
77 ^r 
Class _^=L^Dx 

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GopyrightN°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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Copyright 1914, by 

THE BIBLE HOUSE 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



ALL RIGHTS KKSKRVKD 



SEP cb 1914 



- 

>CI.A380543 



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BRITISH TROOPS CROSSING A RIVER 




FRENCH SUBMARINE ATTACKING GERMAN RATTLESHIP 





A MODERN WAR MACHINE IN ACTION 




THE GREAT BATTLE AT LIEGE, BELG 




TWEEN GERMAN AND BELGIAN FORCES 




LOADING A MACHINE GUN 




LANDING ARTILLERY PROM TRANSPORTS 





GERMAN GUNS SHOOTING FRENCH AEROPLANES 




NEW GERMAN TORPEDO BOAT G. 8 




CATCHING A SPENT TORPEDO 





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M81 




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TORPEDO SHOT OUT BY POWDER GUN 




WMfr 



TORPEDO LEAVING GUN 




A DARING DASH OF NEW WAK MACHINES 




TORPEDO CAUGHT OX THE FLY 




PUTTING ON THE WAR PAINT 



PREFACE 

The spectacle of all but one of the really great powers of 
Europe at war eclipses all the other war spectacles in the 
history of the world in the number of troops, the magnitude 
of armament and the theater of operations. 

Millions of men met upon battlefields where tens of 
thousands had met before. Siege guns of a size unheard of 
before were used to reduce fortifications, and perfected 
machine guns mowed down battalions, while submarine and 
aeroplanes and monster Zeppelins played for the first time 
their deadly parts in the carnage of battles. 

In order to understand and appreciate the importance of 
events of the great European war of 1914 it is desirable, and 
more or less necessary, to know the previous war history of 
Europe, the relations of the contending powers, their 
peoples and their history. 

In this volume, Europe at War, will be found a history 
of the events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities 
between Austria-Hungary and Servia, which plunged a con- 
tinent into the most gigantic armed conflict ever known or 
conceived. 

In this great work will be found the thrilling story of 
the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir 

a 



b Preface 

to the Austrian throne and his morganatic wife, which was 
the overt act that precipitated the war. 

The form and manner in which war was declared by the 
several powers, giving their reasons therefor, including the 
speeches of the German Kaiser; the British Foreign Min- 
ister, Sir Edward Grey; the manifesto of the aged Austrian 
Emperor, Franz Joseph, together with the ultimatums and 
declarations of war are also set forth. 

The Triple Alliance and Triple Entente are described 
and explained, thus explaining the alignment of the forces 
engaged in the gigantic conflict. 

Europe at War contains the history of all the decisive 
battles of the world from Marathon to the battle that 
ended the Russo-Japanese war. In these thrilling descrip- 
tions of the world's greatest battles preceding the great 
European war of 1914 may be found facts and figures for 
comparison with the greatest of all wars in the history of the 
world. 

The Seven Years' war waged by the great ancestor of 
the Kaiser, Frederick the Great, in which all Europe was 
arrayed against him, is given a special chapter. 

Another chapter is devoted to the Franco-Prussian war 
of 1870, which left France and Germany mortal enemies, 
and which resulted in the enormous armaments and war 
preparations of those nations, which were under way for 
more than forty years. This work also contains a descrip- 
tion of the fair provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which 
Germany exacted from France as a war prize, and which 
were the scenes of hard fighting in the great war of 1914. 

One of the underlying causes of the world's greatest war 
was the growth of Pan- Slavism and Pan-Germanism, the 
sentiments which united the Slav races into one faction and 



Preface c 

the Germanic races into another, with resulting rivalries and 
antagonisms, all of which are fully explained herein. 

Thrilling Personal Experiences in the War constitute a 
chapter to stir red blood, reciting daring deeds of individuals 
in battles of earth, sea and air. 

Under the title Best Stories of the War are given a 
series of incidents replete with tragedy, adventure, humor, 
pathos and human interest. 

All the rulers of the nations at war in 1914 were related 
by blood or marriage except the King of Servia. Just what 
these relationships were, giving the various marriages 
between European royalty are accurately told herein. 

The biographies and personal histories of the leading 
commanders and rulers make another attractive feature. 
Among them will be found faithful pen portraits of the 
German Kaiser, Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, the young 
King of the Belgians and others. 

This great work also contains descriptions of the modern 
methods of warfare, submarines, aeroplanes, the deadly 
mines sown on land and sea and how they are operated. 

The characteristics and habits of the various peoples and 
interesting and valuable facts concerning the nations at war 
are given. 

The army and navy strength of the Great Powers are 
accurately set forth. 

In fact, everything of historical and educational value 
necessary to an understanding of the world's greatest war 
has been made a feature of this great work. 



Preface 




THE REAL SUFFERERS IN A AVAR ARE THE ONES 
LEFT AT HOME 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEE I 
THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR OF 1914 

PAGE 

The Beginning of the Greatest War in the History of the World, Involving Five 
of -the Greatest Nations of Europe, Great Britain, Germany, France, Aus- 
tria-Hungary and Russia and the Smaller Nations of Belgium, Servia and 
Montenegro, Followed the Shots of an Assassin WJio Killed the Heir to 
the Throne of Austria-Hungary. A Summary of the Events That Pre- 
ceded the Greatest of all International Conflicts . . . .43 

CHAPTER II 
THE 'ASSASSINATION THAT STARTED THE WAR 
Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Heir to Austrian Throne, and His Wife, the 
Duchess of Hohenberg, Slain in Bosnia — First Attempt on Their Lives 
with a Bomb — History of Their Courtship and Marriage — Assassins In- 
volve High Servian Officials . . . . . . .51 

CHAPTER III 
AUSTRIA DECLARES WAR ON SERVIA 
High Feeling Against Servia in Austria — Demand for Satisfaction — Servia' s 
Reply — Austria Declares War on Servia — Efforts to Settle Differences 
by European Mediation — Emperor Francis Joseph Explains Austria's 
Attitude Toward Servia — The Match Touched to the European Powder 
Barrel ........... 59 

chapter iv 
how The war cloud spread 

Austria Invades Servia — Russia Mobilizes for War — Germany Orders Czar 
to Cease Warlike Preparations — Kaiser Declares War on Russia — Kaiser 
Appeals to His People ........ 69 

CHAPTER V 
THE INVASION OF LUXEMBURG 
Germany's Early Moves in War Game — France in a State of War with Ger- 
many — Kaiser's Demand on Belgium — Great Britain Stands by France 
and for the Neutrality of Belgium ..... 77 

CHAPTER VI 
FIVE NATIONS IN THE GRIP OF WAR 
Great Britain Declares War on Germany — Kaiser Blames Other Nations 
for Trouble — Czar Puts Blame on Germany — France Also Blames Kaiser's 
Government — Montenegro Declares War on Austria — Great Britain De- 
clares War on Austria ........ 87 



Contents 



CHAPTER VII 



JAPAN TAKES A HAND IN THE TROUBLE 
Japan Soon Takes Steps to Take a Hand in the Great War—Kiaochou Ter- 
ritory Leased by Germany in China Causes Japan to Prepare for War— 
Mikado s Government Sends an Ultimatum to Germany Demanding That 
German Ships Leave Oriental Waters and That Germany Evacuate Kiao- 
C jy m — Txme Limit Set in Note Expires with Germany Failing to Notice 
the Communication— Japan Declares War on Germany— Japan's Strength 
on Land That Is Thrown in with the Allies— Strength of the Japanese 
■"O/vy ••••.... 97 

CHAPTER VIII 
YOUNG KING OF THE BELGIANS 
Grandson of a German Prince— His Queen the Grand Niece of the Murdered 
Empress of Austria— His Visit to America When Crown Prince— His 
Large Possessions in the Congo with 30,000,000 Belgian Subjects— 
A Democratic Monarch . . . .' . 103 

CHAPTER IX 

GERMANY'S WAR LORD 

Perao^l Description of Kaiser Wilhelm II— His Work as Emperor and 

Methods of Life— Has a Big Body, Short Legs and a Withered Arm— 

lhe German Navy His Personal Creation— His Income $7,000 000 a 

Year — His Hobbies .... . 107 

CHAPTER X 

THE RUSSIAN COMMANDER 

The Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevitch Was Prominent in the Russo-Japa- 

^War—One of the Finest Cavalry Officers of the Great Empire— 

His Mother a German— Known as the Strong Man of Russia Who Might 

Become Beg ent or Even Czar .... 113 

CHAPTER XI 
KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM 
The Great Soldier Who Was at the Head of England's War Department in 
the European War of 1914— He Organized the British Army in India and 

Yh?T™i f ° f Ji% °fL°r d R 0herts in the Boer War-How He Destroyed 
the Tombs of the Prophets After Slaying 17,000 of the Enemy in One Day 115 

CHAPTER XII 
A WAR OF COUSINS 
All of the Royal Families of Europe in the Great War of 1914 Were Belated 
by Blood or Marriage Except Servia's—Many Grandchildren of Kino 
Christian of Denmark and Queen Victoria of England— Also Held Mil- 
iary Titles w Each Other's Armies and Navies— A Continental Family 

121 

CHAPTER XIII 

ARMED STRENGTH OF WARRING NATIONS 
Strength of the Rival Nations— Twenty Million Men Prepare for War— Allies 
Have Advantage in Land Power— Naval Strength of Allies Also Greater 
—Great Britain, s Powerful Navy— Classification of Great Sea Fleets— 
Aenal Strength of Powers Favors Allies— Wealth of Warring Nations 
with Revenue, Expenditure and Debt— Cost of General War ' 129 



137 



Contents S 

PAGE 

CHAPTEE XIV 
BATTLES IN THE AIR 
Lord Tennyson's Bemarkable Prophecy Bealized-Aerial Crafts Zevolutwn- 
izinq Warfare— Germany's Zeppelins Veritable Aerial Battleships— How 
Aerial Forces Were Distributed Along Frontiers— The Aeroplane by Day 
and the Dirigible by Night— England's Attempt to Bar Foreign Air Craft 
—All Nations Steadily Increasing Their Air Strength—Biplanes More 
Adaptable for Dropping Bombs— Damage by Bombs an Open Question- 
Zeppelin a Convertible Cruiser . 

CHAPTER XV 
THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE AND THE TRIPLE ENTENTE 
The Former a Signed and Sealed Compact, the Latter a "Gentlemen's Agree- 
ment"— How They Were Formed and Why— Germany, Austria-Hungary 
and Italy Composed the Alliance and Bussia, France and Great Britam 
Composed the Entente— Bismarck the Originator . • • 153 

CHAPTER XVI 
PAN-SLAVISM VS. PAN-GERMANISM 
Bacial Hatred Primary Cause of the War, with Over-Armament a Contrib- 
uting Factor— Disruption of Turkish Empire Hastened Comrng Conflict— 
Pan-Germanism Against Pan-Slavism— Definition of the Two Terms— 
Deeply Booted Bacial Hatred) Apparent Everywhere— Ser via Once a 
Mighty Empire Subjugated by Turkey— Servia's Struggle for Thirty- 
five Years for a Seaport Checkmated by Austria-Hungary— Growth of 
Pan-German Movement — Deep-Seated Season for Bacial Hatred— The 
Bule of the Hohenzollerm Versus the Bule of the Czar . . -159 

CHAPTER XVII 
MODERN METHODS OF WARFARE 
Weapons Used by Modern Armies and Navies— Machine Guns — The Submarine 

The Aeroplane — Present Day Ammunition — Mines on Land and Sea — 

Modern War's Death Power — Submarines of Warring Powers — The Chem- 
ical Mine — Classes of Mines— Explosives Used— Placing of Destroyers 

How Japan Treated Mines Planted by Bussia — Attack on Modern 

Mine Field — Invention of Mines ....... 167 

CHAPTER XVIII 

SERVIA AND HER PEOPLE 

Most Picturesque of the Countries at War— The Servian Empire Overthrown 

by the Turks in 1389 Begaimed in Part by a Bevolution in 1804 — People 

Love Politics, Poetry, Music and Dancing— Description of Their Brilliant 

Costumes and Chief Characteristics ...... 173 

CHAPTER XIX 

THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE 

A Nation Great in Art and Literature, with a War-Bidden History, Is Made 

Up of Many Different Elements Whose Chief Industry Is Agriculture — 

The Bretons, Basques and Flemings Still Betain Their Original Customs 

and Distinctive Languages . . • . • • 177 



h Contents 

PAGE 

CHAPTEE XX 

THE GERMAN EMPIRE 

Second in Area and Third in Population Among the Warring Nations of 

Europe — The Extent and Diversity of Its Commerce — An Empire Made 

Up of Prussia and the German Confederation — Its Form of Government 

— The Kaiser Supreme in War ...... 181 

CHAPTER XXI 

THE GREAT RUSSIAN EMPIRE 

It Comprises One-Sixth of the Land Surface of the Globe and the Greatest 

Diversity of Races — Its Government and Characteristics of Its People — 

Land of Contrasting Riches and Poverty — Nobility Spends Money Freely 

on Entertainments ........ 185 

CHAPTER XXII 
ALSACE-LORRAINE, THE FAIR PRIZES OF WAR 
Division of Charlemagne's Vast Empire Among His Grandsons — Lothair, the 
Weakest, Gets as His Heritage Alsace-Lorraine Among Other Lands — 
Provinces a Bone of Contention Between France and Germany — France 
Gets Alsace and All Lorraine but the City of Strassburg by Treaty of 
Westphalia — Louis XIV Takes Strassburg for France — Provinces a The- 
atre of Operations in Franco-Prussian War — Germany Gets Them as a 
Price of Peace — German Government — The Zabern Affair — Character- 
istics of Natives ........ 189 

CHAPTER XXIII 
FREDERICK THE GREAT AND THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 
Battles in Which the Ancestor of Kaiser Wilhelm II Won His Title — Fought 
Against Six Nations with Odds of More Than Two to One Against Him 
and Won — The Eleven Great Battles That Cost One Million Lives — The 
Great Military Genius of Prussia After Fighting Seven Years Died in 
Peace and Amidst Plenty ....... 193 

CHAPTER XXIV 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 
Louis XVI a Poor Ruler — His Personal Characteristics — Marie Antoinette, 
His Queen — Conditions at the Court of Louis — Huge Funds Wasted by 
the Courtiers — Power of the King Over His Subjects — Protests of the 
People Against Heavy Taxation — Opening of the French Revolution — 
Talcing of the Bastile — Formation of the National Assembly — The King 
Is Defied — Chaotic Conditions in France — Effects of the New Constitu- 
tion on Europe — France Embroiled in War — The King's Death War- 
rant — The New Republic — Its Early Troubles — The Rise of Napoleon — • 
His Career — The Restoration — The Second Republic — The Second Em- 
pire — The Third Republic . . . . , . 203 

CHAPTER XXV 
THE WARS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 
History of His Campaigns Against Austria, Italy, Prussia, Russia and Eng- 
land — Cut Up Germany and Italy and Distributed Them Among His 
Favorite Generals — His Defeat in the "Battle of the Nations" and 
Final Defeat at Waterloo, Belgium, Scene of the Great European War 
of 1914 .......... 211 



Contents i 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXVI 
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 
Napoleon III Makes War on Prussia Over the Selection of a King to the 
Spanish Throne — Gen. Von Molfke, in Bed, Tells Messenger Where to 
Find Plans for Mobilization and Goes to Sleep — Historic Battles of the 
Short War — Flight of the Emperor and the Empress Eugenie — The Be- 
ginning of the German Empire ...... 223 

CHAPTER XXVII 

DECISIVE BATTLES AT SEA 

The Building of Modern Navies Began in the United States with the Monitor 

arid Merrimac — China and Japan in Next Battle of Ironclads at the 

Mouth of the Yalu — Naval Fights in the Spanish- American War and 

the Busso- Japanese War — The Decisive Naval Battles of the World . 231 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES 

(Marathon to Orleans) 

The Battle of Marathon — The Peloponnesian War — The Battle of Arbela — 

The Battle of the Metaurus — Defeat of Varus, the Roman, by Arminius 

— The Battle of Chalons — The Battle of Tours — The Battle of Hastings 

— Joan of Arc at Orleans ....... 239 

CHAPTER XXIX 
THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES— Continued 
(Defeat of Spanish Armada to Waterloo) 
The Spanish Armada — Battle of Blenheim — Battle of Pultowa — Burgoyne's 

Defeat at Saratoga — Battle of Valmy — Battle of Waterloo . . 255 

CHAPTER XXX 
THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES— Continued 

QUEBEC TO TSTJ-SHIMA 

"".he Fall of Quebec — Surrender of Cornwallis at YorTctown — Battle of VicTcs- 
burg — Battle of Gettysburg — Battle of Sedan — Battle of Manila Bay — 
Battles of Santiago — Battle of Tsu-Shima .... 265 

CHAPTER XXXI 
NEUTRALITY OF THE UNITED STATES 
President Wilson's Proclamation of Neutrality — United States Declared to 
Be Absolutely Neutral in Great Conflict — Recognizes the State of War — 
Acts Forbidden to Americans — Acts Forbidden to Belligerents — Pres- 
ident's Warning to Americans to Keep Calm — Wilson's Offer of Medi- 
ation to Warrimg Powers — Powers Courteously Decline Profer . 279 

CHAPTER XXXII 
AMERICANS ABROAD AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 
Americans Caught in War Zone — Service Rendered by American Diplomats — 
President Wilson's Call on Congress for Funds — $250,000 Immediately 
Voted for Relief of Stranded Americans — $2,500,000 More Voted for 
Same Purpose — Battleship Tennessee Sails with Gold Cargo on Mission 
of Relief — Refugees Arrive on the Philadelphia — The France and New 
York Return Crowded with Refugees — Stories of Thrilling Experiences . 287 



• Contents 

j 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
FIRST SEA BATTLE OF THE WAR 

E«scu« Gcr«uj?i Saitor*— German O^ctol Report 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
BOMB ATTACK BY A ZEPPELIN 

S^i^SS 2&£3W f - ^U- »«— **■» ™« * 315 

Piacff Shells— Other Thrilling Experiences 

CHAPTER XXXV 
THE DEFENCE OF LIEGE 

- teAMfes: »«sS«wms= 323 

-Reprisals for the Belay 

CHAPTER XXXVI 
THRILLING WAR EXPERIENCES IN THE FIELD, IN THE CLOUDS 
1M AND ON THE SEA 

Relai.nOf.cer C^*^^ f ^^ ^ ?£ iZ%£ 

ifine in the North Sea— Ger ™"*™%T t of Fr J ench Turcos —The 
Austrians Walk Into Russian ^r-^ff^rsWent to Their Deaths 
Chase of ttofoebenan .d Br* ^f^/XS? « Bomft. Fall on City 

^^VStf££^ ^^ Ge ™ 331 

BottlesTiip . 

CHAPTER XXXVII 
BEST STORIES OF THE WAR 
. ^ • -nscne+er m,mor and Pathos— Alsatian Who Went to 



CHAPTER I 

THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR OF 1914 

The Beginning of the Greatest War in the History of the 
World, Involving Five of the Greatest Nations of Eu- 
rope, Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hun- 
gary and Russia and the Smaller Nations of Belgium, 
Servia and Montenegro, Followed the Shots of an As- 
sassin Who Killed the Heir to the Throne of Austria- 
Hungary. A Summary of the Events that Preceded 
the Greatest of all International Conflicts. 

THE shots fired by a Herzogovinan student in the city of 
Serajeve, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914, which killed the 
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the crown of Austria- 
Hungary, and his wife the Duchess of Hohenberg, were 
echoed by the roaring guns of five of the most powerful 
nations of Europe. 

The "shot heard 'round the world" in the American rev- 
olution was fired by a patriot; the shot heard 'round the 
world in the Great European war of 1914 was fired by an 
assassin. 

Actually, the greatest war the world had ever known, 
which at the beginning involved Austria-Hungary, Servia, 
Russia, Germany, France and England, and later Japan in 

43 



44 The Great European War of 1914 

the order named began on July 27, 1914, when Austria-Hun- 
gary invaded Servia, although Austria-Hungary did not de- 
clare war upon the little Servian state until the following 
day. 

The act of the Herzogivanan assassin and his bomb- 
throwing confederate was not the cause of the war; it was 
the preliminary overt act which, so to speak, touched the 
match to the European powder barrel. 

The causes had been multiplying for years and are to be 
found in the racial hatreds, the commercial rivalries, the 
subjugation of the weak by the strong, the theft of terri- 
tory, the pride and arrogance of autocracy and the bitter 
memories of other wars. 

THE BALANCE OF POWER IN EUROPE 

The peace of Europe for a half century has depended 
upon the proper maintenance of the balance of power, so 
that no one nation or combination of nations should become 
so powerful that it or they could dominate the others. To 
maintain this balance of power among peoples naturally an- 
tagonistic the nations of Europe have for years been build- 
ing up the most powerful armies and navies the world has 
ever known until the burden of war taxes has well nigh 
broken the backs of the people and has been one reason for 
the large emigration to America of thousands who found 
the burden greater than they could bear. 

But while these monster preparations for war have been 
going on the statesmen of the several countries have sought 
to prevent or at least to delay armed conflict by alliances, 
understandings, treaties and all the arts of diplomacy. 



The Great European War of 19U 



45 



So enormous and powerful were the great war machines 
which grew in size and cost every year that they became in 
themselves a sort of guarantee of peace. It seemed incred- 
ible that nations so armed should risk annihilation by such 
powerful engines of destruction. The mere thought of a 
European war to the average person became a grotesque ab- 
surdity The alliances to preserve the balance of power 
seemed too well adjusted, the means of warfare too 

destructive. r , 

To aid in the preservation of the balance of power little 
states lying between the possessions of the great powers were 
permitted to retain their independence of the great powers 
which guaranteed their neutrality, thus relieving tension and 
friction along the boundaries of the great states. All the 
safeguards of peace seemed to have been taken. _ 

Yet when the first blast of war sounded treaties and al- 
liances were in some cases disregarded and the neutrality- of 
the so-called little "buffer" states was violated. 

CAUSE OF THE ASSASSINATION 

In considering the causes of the Great European war 
of 1914, the greatest in the history of the world, and the 
direct acts leading up to hostilities it is necessary to recall 
that in 1909 Austria seized from Turkey the territory of 
Bosnia and Herzogovina, inhabited by Serbs, whose dream 
had been to unite with Servia in a Servian empire and who 
resented the rule of Austria. It was this resentment to- 
gether with pride of race that led the young Serb, Prinzip, 
to assassinate the heir to the Austrian throne. 

Despite this crime against his family and throne it was 



46 The Great European War of 1914 

not believed that the aged Emperor of Austria- Hungary, 
Francis Joseph, then in his eighty-fourth year, would re- 
taliate upon the Servian nation, although it was made clear 
that the plot of the assassin and his accomplice was hatched 
in Servia. The history of the world, however, shows that 
some of its greatest wars have directly resulted from indi- 
vidual acts far less important and malicious than this. 

On July 23, following the assassination of his nephew 
and heir, the government of the venerable Emperor Franz 
Joseph issued an ultimatum to the Servian government de- 
manding guarantee of reforms calculated to protect Aus- 
tria-Hungary from alleged Servian plotting and to pre- 
clude a like tragedy. 

The Servian reply granted all points of the ultimatum 
except one and that was not rejected but left open for fur- 
ther negotiations. 

Austria-Hungary's reply was that the Servian reply was 
unsatisfactory. On the same day shots were exchanged be- 
tween the two nations across the Danube River near Bel-< 
grade, the Servian capital. 

KUSSIA BEGINS MOBILIZATION 

Servia's one dependence was upon Russia, which like 
Austria had an enormous Serb population. Almost coinci- 
dent with the exchange of notes between the two govern- 
ments Russia began to mobilize her enormous army, alleg- 
ing her action to be but a precautionary measure. 

Germany, which with Austria and Italy composed the 
Triple Alliance, supported Austria-Hungary and demanded 
of Russia that she cease mobilizing her army. 



The Great European War of 1914 47 

Prior to this, however, Great Britain, through her for- 
eign minister, Sir Edward Grey, proposed an international 
peace conference, France and Italy agreeing, but Germany 
holding off. 

Russia having continued her mobilization beyond the 
twenty-four hours named in Germany's ultimatum-, Ger- 
many on August 1st declared war on Russia, and on the same 
day France and Germany began mobilizing their forces. 

Russia and France and Great Britain constituted what 
is known as the Triple Entente, that is to say, these three 
nations had a verbal understanding, a sort of "gentlemen's 
agreement" as to what they would do in the event their in- 
terests or safety were menaced, whereas in the # Triple Al- 
liance the terms were signed and sealed and had the force 
and effect of a written contract. 

Although Germany's declaration of war was against 
Russia the mobilization of three of her armies was directed 
against Russia's long time ally, France, and on the following 
day the forward movement upon her ancient foe of the 
Franco-Prussian War began, breaking a peace which had ex- 
isted for nearly forty-three years between them. On the 
same day Russia invaded Germany. 

Between Germany and France lay the neutral little king- 
dom of Belgium, the neutrality of which had been guaran- 
teed by the Treaty of London in 1867, to which Germany 
and Great Britain were both signatories. 

By marching her armies straight across Belgium it 
would have been possible for Germany to reach the French 
frontier before the French army could arrive there to 
defend. 



48 The Great European War of 19 H 

GERMANY INVADED BELGIUM 

Basing her action upon military necessity Germany in- 
vaded Belgium — a violation of the neutrality treaty. It is 
only fair and impartial to state, however, that Germany did 
not expect Belgium to offer any opposition to this move- 
ment and offered to reimburse Belgium for any damage she 
might sustain. The German chancellor freely and publicly 
acknowledged that the invasion of the German troops was a 
violation of Belgium's neutrality, but declared that the 
menace was so great that she was justified. 

Belgium not only rejected Germany's offer, but ap- 
pealed to Great Britain and at the same time prepared to 
resist the invasion with force. 

Great Britain's response was a declaration to defend 
both France and Belgium and on August 4th a declaration 
of war was issued against Germany by Great Britain and be- 
gan the mobilization of her army for the purpose of sending 
an expeditionary force to join the French and Belgians. 
Germany on the same day declared war against Great 
Britain. 

Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance, was called 
upon by Germany and Austria-Hungary to join forces with 
them, but instead of doing so declared that she would re- 
main neutral, alleging that the terms of the alliance only 
required her to aid her allies in a war of defense, whereas 
in this war she considered them the aggressors. 

GREATEST WAR OPENS 

Under these conditions the greatest war in the history of 
the world was in full blast by August 5th, upon which date 



The Great European War of 1914 49 

the first of the three enormous armies which Germany sent 
against France crossed the Belgian frontier in force and be- 
gan an attack upon the forts at Liege where the Belgians 
made a desperate and brilliant defense. 

In the meantime Austrian warships were battering the 
deserted Servian capital of Belgrade and Austrian troops, 
facing the hail of Servian shells and bullets, were forcing a 
passage of the Drina and Save rivers. 

The Russian army, like a huge bear, was moving slowly 
but steadily upon the frontiers of its enemies. 

The activities of the powerful navies of Great Britain, 
Germany and France were screened in mystery. 

With the most powerful nations at war even the neutral 
nations summoned their fighting men to the colors to defend, 
if need be, their frontiers. 

Em*ope trembled beneath the feet of twenty millions of 
men under arms. 

The war which had figured only in the imagination of 
writers, the war which the world had dreaded, the incon- 
ceivable war which enveloped a continent and was to remake 
the map of Europe and be felt to the uttermost ends of the 
earth was a reality. 



50 



The Great European War of 1914 







• /^TOrtJ •Brussels )f ^ 



^ARMS O0KRJ CENTERS 
© PRINCIPAL DEFENCES 



SCALE, or MILES 
25MI. 30MI. fQOM'l. 

I 1 h- 1 






RELATIONS OF DISTANCES, COMPARED TO 
AMERICAN CITIES 



CHAPTER II 

THE ASSASSINATION THAT STARTED THE 

WAR 

Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Heir to Austrian Throne, and 
His Wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, Slain in Bosnia — 
First Attempt on Their Lives with a Bomb — History of 
Their Courtship and Marriage — Assassins Involve High 
Servian Officials. 

ARCHDUKE FRANCIS FERDINAND, the heir to 
the throne of Austria-Hungary, journeyed to Bosnia 
on a martial errand but on a peaceful mission. Created 
head of the army, he went there to represent Francis Joseph, 
Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, at the grand 
manoeuvres. It was his first official visit to Bosnia and he 
paid for it with his life. Foiled in their first attempt to slay 
him and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, the band of 
Servian assassins were successful in the second effort. 
Where a bomb failed to put an end to the heir to the Aus- 
trian throne a bullet was successful. 

On the morning of June 28 the archduke and his wife 
decided to attend a reception at the town hall in Sarajevo. 
Many fetes had been arranged in their honor and to show 
that the Austrians had a kindly feeling toward the people of 

51 



52 The Assassination That Started the War 

the annexed provinces, the archduke and duchess planned 
to mingle freely with the Bosnians at entertainments. 

As Archduke Francis Ferdinand and the duchess were 
driving to the town hall a bomb was thrown at their motor 
car. Only the great presence of mind of the archduke 
saved their lives then. The deadly missile was thrown as 
the automobile was going ahead at a snail's pace and the 
archduke warded it off with his arm. The dynamite did 
not explode until after the archduke's car had passed. Then 
there was a crash and the occupants of the following car 
were injured. They were Count von Boos-Waldeck and 
Colonel Merizzi, the archduke's aide-de-camp. Neither was 
seriously hurt. Six persons in the crowd that lined the 
street were also injured. 

THE DOUBLE ASSASSINATION 

It was when the archduke was going to the hospital to 
see how his aide-de-camp was recovering from the effects of 
the explosion that he lost his life. The assassin, a student of 
eighteen, named Gavrio Prinzip, stationed himself in the 
front rank of a cheering crowd, at a point on the route from 
the town hall to the palace, and, as the royal automobile 
slowed down at a turning, he opened fire with an automatic 
pistol, hitting the archduke in the face as he sought to pro- 
tect his consort. 

As he fell back in the seat the murderer turned his 
weapon on the duchess, who sank across her husband's knees 
with bullets through her throat and abdomen. 

Thus, for the second time, the aged Emperor Francis 
Joseph, then in his eighty-fifth year, was robbed in tragic 



The Assassination That Started the War 53 

fashion of an heir, and the House of Hapsburg sustained 
one more crushing blow in its unhappy history. 

The two attempts evidently were carefully planned. The 
archduke and his consort arrived at Sarajevo in the morn- 
ing from Ilidza, a little seaside resort where they had spent 
a brief holiday. The first attempt against the life of the 
archduke was made as he was about to leave the girls' high 
school, where he made a brief inspection. The archduke 
remained calm throughout this trying ordeal. He stopped 
his car to inquire as to the injuries of Count von Boos-Wal- 
deck and Colonel Merizzo. After giving orders that the in- 
jured be properly attended, he drove on to the town hall, 
where the mayor proceeded to read his address of welcome. 

The archduke, however, interrupted the proceedings to 
exclaim : 

"What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sara- 
jevo on a visit and I get bombs thrown at me. It is out- 
rageous!" Then, after a pause, he said: "Now you may 
speak." 

The reception ceremony was overshadowed by the bomb 
explosion, and his royal highness was still indignant 
when the time came to leave. The duchess endeavored to 
restrain her husband from getting into the automobile again, 
but the governor of Bosnia, General Potiorek, said: 

"It's all over now. We have not got more than one 
murderer in Sarajevo!" 

A SECOND BOMB THROWN 

At this the archduke decided to enter the car again. As 
the machine proceeded along the Appel Quay another bomb 



54 The Assassination That Started the War 

was thrown. It failed to explode, whereupon the assassin 
drew an automatic pistol and fired a fusillade. The first 
bullet hit the archduke in the neck, the second in the leg and 
the third struck the duchess in the abdomen. 

Governor Potiorek, who was seated in the royal car, was 
covered with blood as the archduke and the duchess sank 
on the floor. He had them conveyed to his official residence, 
but they were past aid, and after receiving the last sacrament 
the duchess expired, the archduke breathing his last a few 
minutes later. 

Spectators asserted that the archduke saw the glint of 
the automatic pistol as the assassin approached, and en- 
deavored to shield the duchess. The fury of the crowds of 
peasantry, all decked out in gala costume to welcome their 
prince, knew no bounds. They tried to tear the assassin 
to pieces, and he was rescued with difficulty by the police, 
with his clothes almost torn from his back. 

The assassin was a native of Herzegovina, and his fel- 
low conspirator who threw the bomb was a compositor 
named Nedeljo Gabrinovics, twenty-one, who also came 
from Herzegovina. When interrogated by the police they 
seemed proud of their exploits. Both had spent some time 
in Belgrade, where Gabrinovics asserted he had obtained the 
bomb from an anarchist, whose name he did not know. He 
said he had been employed in the government printing 
works. He made no concealment of his sympathy with the 
King of Servia. 

Spectators of the death scene state that the Duchess of 
Holienberg did not know she was seriously wounded, and, 
while dying of internal hemorrhage, supported her husband 



The Assassination That Started the War 55 

and sought to comfort him, while streams of blood flowed 
from his wound. 

The day, which began with bands playing, the streets 
decked in bunting and the inhabitants in festive mood, ended 
in somber tragedy. The gay flags were soon torn down, and 
in their place were hung crape and festoons of black cloth. 
The bright costumes of the peasantry were exchanged for 
robes of mourning, and a silence of stunned consternation 
hung over the city, except where infuriated bands of stu- 
dents threatened the residences of Servians. 

STORY OF A ROYAL ROMANCE 

Meanwhile the bodies of the heir to the Austrian throne 
and his wife were lying in state with a sad faced stream of 
mourners passing before the biers. That morning most of 
them had seen the couple pulsating with life and the joy 
of living either at the high school on their trip of inspec- 
tion or as they drove through the crowded streets. Many 
had seen the first attempt on their lives; many others had 
seen the successful attempt of the young student. All had 
heard of the devotion of the couple; how the archduke had 
tried to shield the duchess and how she thought only of him 
in her dying moments. 

Theirs had been a love match. In the circles of royalty 
the Duchess of Hohenberg was a Cinderella transformed by 
the magic wand of love to the highest grandeur and magnifi- 
cence. She appealed with an especial romantic interest to 
Americans. She was a girl of good birth, as we would con- 
sider it, although not good enough to mate with royalty, as 
royalty thought. She was modest, unsophisticated and care- 



56 The Assassination That Started the War 

fully educated for the conventional life of the Austrian 
court — the most conventional in Europe, with the excep- 
tion of that of Spain, upon which it is modelled. 

A more unlikely place than either court could scarcely 
be found for such a girl to make an advantageous marriage, 
or a more barren spot for the growth of the woodland rose 
of unworldly love. The differences in rank among the 
nobility themselves create barriers well nigh impassable for 
marriage unless accompanied by such extraordinary wealth 
that one might call it colossal. And royal blood is exalted 
with a mediaeval reverence long since dead and gone else- 
where in Europe. 

Sophie von Chotek, who became the Duchess of Hohen- 
berg, was not an actress nor a prima donna whom the 
jeunesse dore crowned queen of their night-life and then 
yielded to the prince whose superior position demanded their 
submission. She was not a Pompadour, a Du Barry or a 
Nell Gwyn, inveigling with the fascinations of the experi- 
enced courtesan a worn-out roue willing to sell his crown for 
the sensations of a new pleasure. 

AN OLD-FASHIONED LOVE STORY 

When Archduke Francis Ferdinand fell in love with her 
she was not beautiful and she was not rich. A motherless 
girl at eighteen, she had been since that time earning her 
living in an exacting position as companion, or hofdame, in 
the household of royalty — about the only conventional way 
open to women of good birth who do not wish to take the 
veil. 

But at the age of thirty-two she made one of the most 



The Assassination That Started the War 57 

brilliant marriages in all history and became as much the 
legal wife of the future ruler of the Dual Monarchy as was 
possible with the rites of the Catholic Church and the decrees 
of the Imperial Parliament. The marriage could not have 
been more free from sordid considerations if both she and 
her husband had been simple peasant lovers. And on the 
other hand, the wife's position could not have been legally 
more secure if she had been born an archduchess. 

It was a sweet old-fashioned love story, such as we are 
accustomed to think comes true only in our own democratic 
freedom. 

This gentle Bohemian girl upset all the preconceived 
ideas of the marriages of princes, with their pompous fam- 
ily councils to weigh the microscopic differences in royal 
lineage and inherited fortune, and their solemn pourparlers 
of statesmen to use the alliance to strengthen the state 
against its enemies and provide successors upon its throne. 
And she upset the plans and the ideas of the Austrian Em- 
peror and his cabinet, with the archdukes and archduchesses, 
just about one hundred strong, fighting them all and holding 
her lover true to his pledge through a period of twelve long 
years before he could make her his wife. 

During those twelve years she exhibited talents for state- 
craft and diplomacy of the highest order. After the mar- 
riage, no one at the Austrian court or any other court in 
Europe was foolish enough to speculate about Austria's fu- 
ture without taking into account the Duchess of Hohenberg. 
But the most far-seeing statesmen were not afraid that she 
would attempt to become Empress of Austria or even Queen 
of Hungary. She was far too wise. 

Hardly had the last Bosnian peasant viewed the bodies 



58 



The Assassination That Started the War 



of the archduke and his wife than unexpected developments 
came to light; the developments that later shook the civilized 
world and were responsible for plunging practically all Eu- 
rope into a titanic struggle. 

Questioned by the police, Prinzip and his confederate in- 
volved high Servian officials in the plot to slay Francis Fer- 
dinand and his duchess. Prinzip, a mere boy, said he had 
been reading anarchist books and periodicals from the time 
he was fourteen years old. He gloried in his deed, admit- 
ting his guilt and saying he felt no compunction for his act. 




\posm 



\LISSA 



&2Z&SZAU\ 



GERMANY 



GZEH&TOCHDWJL 




\USTRI A 



CITIES FIRST ATTACKED BY THE GERMAN ARMY 



CHAPTER III 

AUSTRIA DECLARES WAR ON SERVIA 

High Feeling Against Servia in Austria — Demand for Sat- 
isfaction — Servians Reply — Austria Declares War on 
Servia — Efforts to Settle Differences by European 
Mediation — Emperor Francis Joseph Explains Aus- 
tria's Attitude Toward Servia — The Match Touched to 
the European Powder Barrel. 

AUSTRIA and Hungary seethed with feeling following 
the assassination of the archduke and his wife. It 
was only a question of days when Emperor Francis Joseph 
demanded a heavy reckoning. 

Austria, knowing many of the details of the assassina- 
tion plot and guessing at others, sent an ultimatum to Ser- 
via on Thursday, July 23rd, to which an answer was de- 
manded in forty-eight hours. The note, which threw Bel- 
grade into a state bordering on panic, reviewed the relations 
with Servia since 1909 and complained that, although the 
Servian government promised loyalty to the Austro-Hun- 
garian government, it had failed to suppress subversive 
movements and agitations by the newspapers, and that this 
tolerance had incited the Servian people to hatred of the 
Austro-Hungarian monarchy and contempt for its in- 
stitutions. 

59 



60 Austria Declares War on Servia 

"This," said the note, "culminated in the Sarajevo as- 
sassinations, which are proved by depositions and confes- 
sions of the perpetrators to have been hatched at Belgrade, 
the arms and explosives having been supplied by the con- 
nivance of Servian officers and functionaries. 

"The Austro-Hungarian government is unable longer 
to pursue an attitude of forbearance, and sees the duty im- 
posed upon it of putting an end to the intrigues which form 
a perpetual menace to the monarchy's tranquillity. It there- 
fore demands from the Servian government formal assur- 
ance that it condemns the dangerous propaganda whose aim 
is to detach from the monarchy a portion of its territory, 
and also that the Servian government shall no longer per- 
mit these machinations and this criminal, perverse propa- 
ganda." 

The note then gave the terms of a long formal declara- 
tion which the Servian government was required to publish 
in its official journal on the front page, condemning the sub- 
versive propaganda, deploring the fatal consequences of 
this, regretting the participation of Servian officers in this 
propaganda, repudiating any further interference with 
Austro-Hungarian interests and warning all Servian officers 
and functionaries and the whole Servian population that 
rigorous proceedings would be taken in the future against 
any persons guilty of such machinations. 

This declaration should also be officially proclaimed to 
the Servian army and the Servian courts should undertake 
to suppress subversive publications and dissolve immediately 
the Pan-Servian society styled "Narodna Odbrana," con- 
fiscating all its means of carrying on a propaganda and 



Austria Declares War on Servia 61 

suppress all similar societies having anti- Austrian tenden- 
cies, it was demanded. 

Servia was further enjoined to eliminate from the edu- 
cational system such tendencies, to remove all officers 
and functionaries guilty of an anti- Austrian propa- 
ganda, whose names and deeds the Austrian govern- 
ment reserved to itself the right of communicating to the 
Servian government; to accept the assistance of represent- 
atives of the Austro-Hungarian government in this work 
of suppression; to prosecute the accessories to the Sarajevo 
plot; to arrest Major Tankavitch, and a Servian state em- 
ployee, Giganovitch, who were compromised by the Sara- 
jevo magisterial inquiry; to stop the illicit traffic of arms 
and explosives across the frontier; to dismiss and punish the 
Servian officials in the frontier service guilty of assisting the 
assassins across the frontier ; to furnish the Austrian govern- 
ment with explanations of anti- Austrian utterances credited 
to high Servian officials since the Sarajevo crime, and finally 
to notify the Austrian government promptly of the execu- 
tion of all the foregoing demands. 

Appended to the note was a long memorandum detailing 
all the facts of Servian complicity elicited by the magisterial 
inquiry at Sarajevo. 

SERVIANS REPLY TO AUSTRIA^ ULTIMATUM 

Servia took the full time allotted to answer the ultima- 
tum. Then the little country granted every condition de- 
manded by Austria except the participation of Austrian of- 
ficials in the inquiry, qualifying the refusal, however. A 
summary of the reply follows : 



62 Austria Declares War on Servia 

First — Servia agrees to the publication in its official jour- 
nal, on the front page, of the formal declaration submitted 
by the Austrian government condemning the subversive 
propaganda and deploring its fatal consequences, regretting 
the participation of Servian officers in this propaganda, re- 
pudiating any further interference with Austro-Hungarian 
interests and warning all Servians that rigorous proceedings 
will be taken in the future against any persons guilty of such 
machinations. 

Second — Servia agrees to communicate this declaration 
to the army in the form of an order of the day. 

Third — It promises to dissolve those societies which may 
be considered capable of conducting intrigues against 
Austria. 

Fourth — Revision of the laws governing the press. 

Fifth — Dismissal from the army and navy of officers 
and the removal also of civilian officials whose participation 
in an anti- Austrian propaganda may be proved. The Ser- 
vian government, however, protests against Austrian offi- 
cials taking any part in the inquiry. 

Sixth — The Servian government asks for an explana- 
tion as to just what part the Austrian officials are to be 
called upon to take in the inquiry into the Sarajevo plot, 
and it is announced that Servia can only admit such par- 
ticipation as would be in accordance with international law 
and good neighborly relations. 

Seventh — To sum up, Servia accepts all the conditions 
and all the demands of Austria, and makes reservations only 
regarding the participation of Austrian officials in the in- 
quiry. It does not give its formal refusal to this point, but 
'confines itself to asking explanations. 



Austria Declares War on Servia 63 

Finally, if the Austrian government finds this reply in- 
adequate, Servia appeals to The Hague Tribunal and to the 
powers which signed the declaration of 1909 relative to Bos- 
nia and Herzegovina. 

The note expressed the hope that the response would dis- 
pel all misunderstandings that threaten neighborly relations, 
and said that Servia had given proofs of her pacific and 
moderate policy throughout the Balkan crisis. 

;,"The Servian government," the note continued, "can- 
not be held responsible for manifestations of a private char- 
acter, such as are common in all lands and escape official 
control. The Servian government has been painfully sur- 
prised by the statements connecting persons in the kingdom 
with the Sarajevo outrage. 

"It expected to be invited to co-operate in the inves- 
tigation of the crime and was ready to prove by deeds the 
earnestness of its action against all persons concerning 
whom communications should be made, without regard to 
situation or rank. 

"The government of Servia condemns all propaganda 
directed against Austria-Hungary, namely, all aspirations 
to detach from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy territories 
which form a part thereof, and sincerely deplores the 
lamentable consequences of such criminal actions. 

"It regrets that certain Servian officers and officials, ac- 
cording to the Austrian communication, have participated in 
these, thereby compromising neighborly relations. The 
government disapproves of and repudiates any attempt to 
interfere with the destinies of the inhabitants of any part of 
Austria-Hungary. ' ' 



64 Austria Declares War on Servia 

AUSTRIA BREAKS WITH SERVIA 

Apparently Austria was ready for conflict, for on the 
afternoon of the reply from Servia M. Jovanovitch, the Ser- 
vian minister to Vienna, was handed his passports and war 
was virtually under way. Meanwhile other powers in Eu- 
rope sought to prevent a general war, as war feeling ran 
high in Germany and Austria, with people in Russia and 
France resentful of the attitude of the two members of the 
Triple Alliance and making demonstrations hostile to them. 
Europe was rapidly being worked up to a warlike pitch; 
Mars so long in an eclipse was again in the ascendent as 
the stage was being set for his bloody role. 

Russia early took a hand in the affair. The Czar as 
his first step asked Austria to extend the time limit of the 
Servian ultimatum thereby showing his sympathy with the 
little country. It was the beginning of the alignment of\ 
nations for the conflict. Here it was that Germany took a 
hand in the trouble, following Russia's warning that Aus- 
tria must not invade Servian territory. The Kaiser's gov- 
ernment declared for a "hands off" policy by other nations, 
leaving Austria uninterfered with in its plans to discipline 
Servia. 

Sir Edward Grey, British foreign minister, proposed an 
international conference of mediation, backed up by France 
and Italy. This was on July 27th. The plan favored by 
Sir Edward Grey was that the four powers, Great Britain, 
France, Germany and Italy, should endeavor to settle the 
misunderstanding between Austria and Servia on the basis 
of Servia's reply to the ultimatum, or, failing this, to try 
to prevent hostilities spreading to other nations. 



Austria Declares War on Servia 65 

Austria and Germany did not wait long to decline to 
take part in a conference looking to an amicable settlement 
of the trouble. Within twenty- four hours Austria had for- 
mally declared war on Servia and Germany had rejected the 
British offer. 

As soon as Germany heard that Austria had declared 
war it communicated with the British foreign ministry and 
declared that, while it considered Sir Edward Grey's sug- 
gestion well meant and in principle good, it was not feasible 
in practice for a great power to submit its differences with 
a smaller nation to the judgment of other countries. 

The counter suggestion was made by Germany that, in- 
stead of an international conference, negotiations for peace 
should be conducted by the cabinets of the governments in- 
volved. Germany stated further that she would welcome 
suggestions to localize the conflict. 

Austria's declaration of war on Servia marked the be- 
ginning of the European-wide struggle. The text of the 
declaration, issued July 28 was as follows : 

The royal government of Servia not having replied in a 
satisfactory manner to the note remitted to it by the Austro- 
Hungarian minister in Belgrade on July 23, 1914, the im- 
perial and royal government finds itself compelled to pro- 
ceed itself to safeguard its rights and interests and to have 
recourse for this purpose to force of arms. 

Austria-Hungary considers itself, therefore, from this 
moment in a state of war with Servia. 

Count Berchthold, 
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary. 



66 Austria Declares War on Servia 

EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH^ MANIFESTO 

With it went a manifesto from the aged Emperor 
Francis Joseph stating that it had been his fervent wish to 
dedicate his declining years to preserving the empire from 
the burdens and sacrifices of war. 

"Providence has decreed otherwise," he said. "The in- 
trigues of a malevolent opponent compel me in defense of 
the honor of my monarchy and for the protection of its dig- 
nity and the security of its possessions, to grasp the sword 
after long years of peace." 

The manifesto referred to the ingratitude of Servia for 
the support the emperor's ancestors afforded to Servian in- 
dependence; how Servia for years had pursued a path of 
open hostility to Austria-Hungary; how Austrian annexa- 
tion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which injured no Servian 
rights, called forth in Servia outbreaks of the bitterest 
hatred. 

"My government," continued the emperor, "then em- 
ployed the handsome privileges of the stronger and with ex- 
treme consideration and leniency only requested Servia to 
reduce her army to a peace footing and promise to tread the 
paths of peace and friendship." 

Then recalling that it was Austrian forbearance two 
years ago that enabled Servia to reap the fruits of the 
struggle against Turkey, the emperor said: "The hope that 
Servia would keep its word has not been fulfilled ; the flame 
of its hatred for myself and my house has blazed always 
higher. The design to tear from us by force inseparable por- 
tions of Austria-Hungary has been manifested with ever 
lessening disguise." 



Austria Declares War an Servia 67 

The manifesto then dwelt on the "criminal propaganda 
which has extended over the frontier, aiming at the destruc- 
tion of the foundations of order and loyalty in the south- 
eastern part of the monarchy and the leading astray of 
growing youth and inciting it to deeds of madness and high 
treason." 

It continued: "A series of murderous attacks in an or- 
ganized and well carried out conspiracy, whose fruitful suc- 
cess wounded me and my loyal people to the heart, forms 
the visible and bloody track of those secret machinations 
which were operated direct in Servia." 

Declaring that a stop must be put to these intolerable 
provocations, the honor and dignity of the monarchy pro- 
tected, and its political, military and economic developments 
guarded from continuous shocks, he said : 

"In vain did my government make a last attempt to in- 
duce Servia to desist. Servia rejected the just and mod- 
erate demands of my government and refused to conform 
to the obligations forming the natural foundations of peace 
in the life of peoples and states. I must therefore proceed 
by force of arms to secure those indispensable pledges which 
alor can insure tranquillity in new states within and lasting 
peace without. 

"In this solemn hour I am fully conscious of the whole 
significance of my resolve and my responsibility before the 
Almighty. I have examined and weighed everything, and 
with serene conscience I set out on the path that duty points. 
I trust in my peoples, who throughout every storm have 
always rallied in united loyalty around my throne, and ha\ e 
always been prepared for the severest sacrifices for the 
honor, greatness and might of the fatherland. 



68 Austria Declares War on Servia 

"I trust in Austria-Hungary's brave and devoted forces 
and in the Almighty to give victory to my arms." 

And now the battle of nations was on; the Armageddon 
of modern times followed on the heels of the assassination 
of an Austrian prince in Bosnia when Austria sought re- 
venge on Servia. The match had been touched to the Eu- 
ropean powder barrel. 




PATRIOTISM 



CHAPTER IV 

HOW THE WAR CLOUD SPREAD 

Austria Invades Servia — Russia Mobilizes for War — Ger- 
many Orders Czar to Cease Warlike Preparations — 
Kaiser Declares War on Russia — Kaiser Appeals to His 
People. 

AFTER Austria's declaration of war came a series of 
climaxes that shook all Europe. Developments, each 
more startling than the other, rapidly piled up until soon it 
was evident that the horrors of war were to be enacted 
throughout Europe. 

Opening their campaign the day following the declara- 
tion of war, the Austrian forces bombarded Belgrade. 
While this was being done, Russia, living up to the letter 
of her demand to Austria that she keep her troops out of 
Servian territory, began to mobilize for war. Russia had 
not swerved in her determination to support Servia. 

The czar called to the colors all the reservists of twenty- 
three whole governments and of seventy-one districts in 
fourteen other governments; part of the reservists of nine 
districts of four governments, the naval reservists in sixty- 
four districts of twelve Russian governments and one Fin- 
nish government; the time-expired Cossacks of the terri- 
tories of Don, Kuban, Terek, Astrakhan, Orenburg and 

69 



70. How the War Cloud Spread 

Ural and a corresponding number of reservist officers of 
the medical and veterinary services, in addition to needful 
horses, wagons and transport services in the governments 
and districts thus mobilized. 

All this took place on July 29 and was the signal for 
Germany to declare that unless the Russian mobilization 
was suspended that Germany would proclaim partial mobili- 
zation within twenty-four hours. War talk which was so 
rife in Russia and Germany was beginning to be heard in 
Great Britain and France. The governments of the four 
countries were laying plans so as to be in partial readiness 
in case of need. 

Russia did not heed the kaiser's ultimatum relative to 
mobilization which was issued on July 29th. On July 30th 
England took a hand in the trouble. On that date the 
British foreign office dispatched a note to Germany setting 
forth her view of the possibilities of a general European 
conflict and indicating very plainly that Great Britain could 
not afford to stand aloof if the balance of power in Europe 
were endangered. At the same time the good offices of Ger- 
many were urged as the only sure means of localizing the 
conflict before interests were compromised which might 
make a universal war inevitable. 

The following day was marked by some sensational de- 
velopments. As Russia and Austria renewed direct nego- 
tiations and Great Britain and France exerted further ef- 
forts to bring a normal state out of chaos the kaiser made 
war moves that shook the civilized world. He issued a de- 
cree of martial law and made a stirring speech to the Berlin 
populace in which he said the sword had been forced on Ger- 
many. It was about 6 o'clock when the kaiser, accompanied 



How the War Cloud Spread 71 

by his whole family, walked out on the historical balcony of 
the royal palace, where his grandfather, Emperor William 
I, appeared years ago under much the same circumstances. 



THE SWOED IS FOECED INTO OUE HAND — THE GEEMAN 

KAISER 

A tremendous ovation greeted the kaiser, and as he 
started to speak it was impossible to hear him. But Prince 
Edelbert, the "marine prince," lifted his hand and everybody 
knew then that the German emperor was about to say some 
momentous words. And so he began the most serious speech 
that perhaps was ever delivered by a mighty monarch to his 
people. He said: 

"A heavy hour has come today upon Germany. Envious 
peoples everywhere force us to take measures for our own 
protection. The sword is forced into our hands. But I 
hope that in the last hour it will be given to me to sheath 
the sword again and do all that we can for peace. But if 
war comes, that same sword, with the help of God, will lead 
us to victory, and we will sheath it then with all honor. 

"War would demand of us an enormous sacrifice in 
property and life, but we would show our enemies what it 
means to provoke Germany. And now I commend you to 
God. Go to church and kneel before God and pray for 
His help for our gallant army." 

The people of Berlin after the speech of the emperor 
were in pessimistic mood. All eyes are turned toward Rus- 
sia, for whose benefit Emperor William apparently spoke. 

The decree proclaiming martial law and the prohibition 



72 How the War Cloud Spread 

of the publication of news of the movements of German 
troops and war material was issued earlier in the day. 

The proclamation announced military measures on the 
frontiers, the armed protection of the railroads and the re- 
striction of telegraphic, postal and railroad services except 
for military purposes. 

All dispatches regarded by the authorities as objection- 
able were returned to the senders, and a rigid censorship on 
telegrams to all parts of the world was put into operation. 

Crown Prince Frederick William was appointed to the 
command of the First Division of the Imperial Guards 
Army Corps. 

Germany, in short, was getting ready for the develop- 
ments of the following day. That day was Saturday, 
August 1st, and it will be a memorable date in the history of 
the world. It was then that the kaiser declared war on Rus- 
sia, it being officially announced that the time limit of the 
German ultimatum to Russia had expired at noon. 

After Count von Pourtales, the German ambassador to 
St. Petersburg, delivered the declaration of war, he and his 
staff left the Russian capital immediately. 

A DRAMATIC SCENE 

The rupture of diplomatic relations between Russia and 
Germany took place under dramatic circumstances. It was 
midnight Friday when Count von Pourtales visited Foreign 
Minister Sazonoff and asked for an urgent interview. As 
soon as he was received he formally called upon Russia to 
cease her mobilization in twelve hours. The allotted period 
of time passed without an answer. At 7 o'clock Saturday 



How the War Cloud Spread 73 

evening Count von Pourtales again called upon M. Sazonaff 
and again asked if Russia would cease mobilizing her forces. 

To this the Russian statesman replied : 

"Inasmuch as the Russian Government has not answered 
within the time you specified, it follows that Russia has de- 
clined to agree with your demand." 

Three times Count von Pourtales repeated the German 
ultimatum, and each time the Russian Foreign Minister met 
his statement with the same firm negative. Finally Count 
von Pourtales rose from his chair, bowed to the Foreign 
Minister and left the room without another word. He and 
the members of his staff at once departed from St. Peters- 
burg by way of Finland. 

According to the Novoe Vremya, Count von Pourtales 
held in his hand the typewritten texts of two replies from 
•Germany. One was for presentation in the event of Rus- 
sian acceptance of the German ultimatum, and the other 
in case of its rejection. In his great agitation the German 
Ambassador presented both replies to M. SazonofF at the 
same time. The one that counted and plunged two more 
nations into war was the rejection reply. 

At about the same time Count von Pourtales was being 
handed his passports in St. Petersburg, Emperor William 
again addressed the Berlin populace from a window of the 
Imperial Palace. More than 50,000 of his subjects cheered 
him wildly. He said: 

"I thank you for the love and loyalty shown me. When 
I enter upon a fight let all party strife cease. We are Ger- 
man brothers and nothing else. All parties have attacked 
me in times of peace. I forgive them with all my heart. I 



74 Hoic the War Cloud Spread 

hope and wish that the good German sword will emerge vic- 
torious in the right." 

The Imperial Chancellor also addressed the assembly, 
saying : 

"All stand as one man for our Emperor, whatever our 
opinions or our creeds. I am sure that all the young Ger- 
man men are ready to shed their blood for the fame and 
greatness of Germany. We can only trust in God, who 
has hitherto always given us victory. 

"At this serious hour, in order to give expression to your 
feelings for your Fatherland, you have come to the house 
of Bismarck, who, with Emperor William the Great, and 
Field Marshal von Moltke, welded the German Empire for 
us. 

"We wished to go on living in peace in the empire which 
we have developed in forty-four years of peaceful labor. 

"The whole work of Emperor William has been devoted 
to the maintenance of peace. To the last hour, he has worked 
for peace in Europe, and he still is working for it. Should 
all his efforts prove vain, and should the sword be forced 
into our hands, we will take the field with a clear conscience 
in the knowledge that we did not seek war. We then shall 
wage war for our existence, and for the national honor, to 
the last drop of our blood. 

"In the gravity of this hour I remind you of the words 
of Prince Frederick Charles to the men of Brandenburg: 

" 'Let your hearts beat for God and your lists on the 
enemv.' " 



Hoic the War Cloud Spread 75 

GERMANY CALLS 5,000,000 MEN TO THE COLORS 

V 

Twenty-four hours later the total mobilization of the 
German army was ordered. This placed in the field ap- 
proximately 5,000,000 men. All male citizens between the 
ages of eighteen and forty-five were called upon to bear 
arms. The general mobilization previously ordered called 
to the colors the second and third reserves. The order of 
August 2 called out the Landsturm and put every available 
fighting man in Germany in active service. 

The Russian Ambassador was handed his passports, a 
special train placed at his disposal and he was escorted to the 
frontier. Germany regarded the last hope of peace as hav- 
ing disappeared. The temper of the people of Berlin had 
changed in twenty-four hours. The enthusiasm of the pre- 
vious day gave way to sober realization of the tremendous 
possibilities of the pending conflict. 

An official statement issued early in the day following 
the arrival of Kaiser Wilhelm from Potsdam, read : 

"In consequence of a Russian attack on German terri- 
tory, Germany is in a state of war with Russia. 

The French reply to the German representations is of an 
unsatisfactory character. Moreover, France has mobilized, 
and an outbreak of war with France must therefore be reck- 
oned with any day or any moment." 

Another statement, issued officially, declared: 

"Russia has invaded Germany during a time of peace, in 
flagrant contradiction of Russia's peaceful assurances." 



76 



H ow the War Cloud Spread 




UNTIL THE SLATS COME OFF 



CHAPTER V 

THE INVASION OF LUXEMBURG 

Germany's Early Moves in War Game — France in a State 
of War with Germany — Kaiser's Demand on Belgium 
— Great Britain Stands by France and for the Neutrality 
of Belgium. 

DEVELOPMENTS on August 2 showed that all hope 
for peace was at an end. They also showed that the 
Kaiser was ready for eventualities and that Germany had 
planned to strike quickly in its effort to gain the ascendency. 
On that date German troops entered the Grand Duchy of 
Luxemburg despite the protest of the young Grand Duchess. 
The French Embassy at London issued a statement declar- 
ing that German troops had invaded French territory at 
Cirey without a declaration of war. 

This was the statement from the Embassy : 

FRANCE STATES HER POSITION 

"German troops have invaded Luxemburg. Germany 
has violated the neutrality of Luxemburg. This neutrality 
was established by a treaty negotiated and signed in London 
in April of 1867. Ratifications of this treaty were ex- 
changed in London, May 30, 1867. Article II of it reads as 

77 



78 The Invasion of Luxemburg 

follows: 'The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg will be a state 
perpetually neutral. The powers which sign the present 
treaty declare themselves as bound to respect this neutrality 
and to make it respected by others. This neutrality is placed 
under the guarantee of the powers which have signed this 
treaty.' 

"The British Ambassador at Berlin asked the German 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Germany 
was prepared to respect the neutrality of Belgium. The 
German Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs declared 
that he was not able to answer. The neutrality of Belgium 
has been established by a treaty signed in London. 

"The German Ambassador at St. Petersburg notified 
Russia of the declaration of war by his Government when 
negotiations were pending between Austria-Hungary and 
Russia, and at the very moment when Austria-Hungary had 
declared that she was prepared to consider the matter of 
the Austro-Serb conflict with Servia or with a neutral power 
on behalf of Servia. 

"The German Ambassador at Paris yesterday morning 
had an interview with the French Prime Minister concerning 
the Austro-Serb conflict, and especially about the decision 
reached by Austria-Hungary to consider the matter with 
Servia or with a neutral power speaking in behalf of Servia. 
In spite of this, on the afternoon of the same day war was 
declared by Germany on Russia. 

"France was asked to tell what she would do in case of 
war between Russia and Germany, and the German Am- 
bassador at Paris began to prepare everything for his de- 
parture from the French capital. 

"July 31, Germany called to the flag the last five classes 



The Invasion of Luxemburg 79 

of her reservists. This she could do by means of the martial 
law proclaimed by Germany, which permitted her to keep 
this news secret. Consequently, on July 31 mobilization was 
going on in Germany. 

"In spite of this France waited until August 1, at 5 
o'clock in the afternoon, to order a general mobilization. 
This was done for the purpose of making it clear that she 
was not the aggressive power, and also that she might be 
able to claim British support. 

"General mobilization was ordered in France August 1, 
at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The first day of mobilization 
began August 2 at midnight. 

The fateful order for French mobilization consisted of 
only seventeen words, and read as follows : 

"Ministry of War. Order of general mobilization. Ex- 
treme urgency. First day of the mobilization Sunday, Au- 
gust 2." 

The words were w r ritten in a large hand and appeared 
on sheets of white paper about eight by twelve inches. These 
posters were manifolded by a duplicating machine and not 
printed. 

The organization immediately began in Paris of bat- 
talions of foreign volunteers, notably Belgians, Slavs and 
Syrians. Italians paraded through the downtown section 
carrying Italian and French flags and shouting "Down 
with Germany!" and "Long live France!" 

The war spirit which was so rampant in France reached 
a fever heat on August 3 when the German Ambassador 
to Paris received word from Emperor William to demand 
his passports. 



80 The Invasion of Luxemburg 

GERMANY BLAMES FRANCE 

Germany in an official communication placed the blame 
for the rupture of diplomatic relations and the existence of 
a state of war on France. The communication said : 

"On the morning of August 2, French airmen flew over 
Nuremberg and threw bombs, while during the night of 
August 1 French aeroplanes flew over the Province of the 
Rhine. During the forenoon of August 2 a number of 
French officers dressed in German uniforms crossed the Ger- 
man frontier from Holland, while on the same day French 
troops crossed the German border in Upper Alsace near 
Belfort. 

"We consider ourselves as having been attacked by 
France before diplomatic relations had been broken off. 

"The German troops hitherto have obeyed the orders 
given them by the German commanders not to cross the 
French frontier. French troops, on the contrary, since yes- 
terday have made several attacks on our frontier posts with- 
out any declaration of war having been made. 

"The French have crossed the frontier at several places 
in spite of the fact that the French Government a few 
days ago informed us that it would not infringe on the un- 
occupied zone of six miles from the frontier, and since last 
night companies of French troops have been in the occu- 
pation of a number of German villages. 

"French army aeronauts have been flying over Baden 
and Bavaria yesterday and today throwing bombs, and have 
violated Belgian neutrality flying over Belgian territory into 
the province of the Rhine in an effort to destroy our rail- 
ways. In this way France has opened the attack upon us 



The Invasion of Luxemburg 81 

and has established a state of war which has compelled the 
German Empire to take defensive measures for the security 
of its territory." 

Germany continued her policy of rapid movements. The 
Kaiser's Government sent a note to Belgium on the evening 
of August 2, proposing to Belgium friendly neutrality, cou- 
pled with the free passage through Belgian territory of 
German troops, the maintenance of Belgian independence 
at the conclusion of peace and threatening in case of refusal 
to treat Belgium as an enemy. The time limit of twelve 
hours was fixed for a reply. Belgium refused to accede to 
the demand. 

GREAT BRITAIN TAKES A HAND 

When this communication was read in the British House 
of Commons by Sir Edward Grey, Great Britain, too, got 
ready to unleash the dogs of war. 

"Belgium answered that an attack on her neutrality 
would be a flagrant violation of the rights of nations, that to 
accept the German proposal would be to sacrifice her honor, 
and, being conscious of her duty, Belgium was firmly re- 
solved to repel aggression by all possible means," Sir Edward 
said in a speech to the House on August 3. 

The text of the Belgian King's telegram to King George, 
which was read by Sir Edward, follows : 

"Remembering the numerous proofs of Your Majesty's 
friendship, and that of your predecessor, of the friendly atti- 
tude of England in 1870, and the proof of the friendship 
which she has just given us again, I make a supreme appeal 
to the diplomatic intervention of Your Majesty's Govern- 
ment to safeguard the integrity of Belgium." 



82 The Invasion of Luxemburg 

Sir Edward Grey, at his first appearance before the 
House of Commons on August 3, stated that the House was 
free to decide what the British attitude in the present Euro- 
pean conflict would be. He added that Great Britain had 
not committed herself to anything but diplomatic support. 
Sir Edward requested the House to approach the considera- 
tion of the European crisis from the point of view of British 
interests, British honor and British obligations. He re- 
quested the House to deal with the issue without passion, 
and added : 

"When the documents are made public it will be seen 
how genuinely and wholeheartedly we have made efforts to 
preserve peace." 

Dealing with the question of Great Britain's obligations, 
Sir Edward said: 

"Up to yesterday, we had given no promise of more than 
diplomatic support. I was asked at the time of the Algeciras 
crisis if we would give armed support, and I said I could 
promise nothing to any foreign power, unless it received the 
whole-hearted support of public opinion. I gave no prom- 
ise, but I told both the French and German Ambassadors 
that if war were forced on France public opinion in the 
British Isles would rally to France." 

Sir Edward added that, if a foreign fleet came down 
the English Channel to bombard the French coast, "we would 
not stand aside." 

The Foreign Secretary stated that the British fleet had 
been mobilized, and the mobilization of the British army was 
taking place, but that no engagement had yet been made by 
the British Government to send an expedition abroad. He 
continued : 



The Invasion of Luxemburg 83 

"The French fleet is in the Mediterranean, and the 
Northern coasts of France are defenseless. If a foreign 
fleet, engaged in war against France, should come down 
and battle against those defenseless coasts, we could not 
stand aside. We felt strongly that France was entitled to 
know at once whether, in the event of an attack on her un- 
protected coasts, she could rely on our support. I gave as- 
surance to the French Ambassador last night that, if the 
German fleet goes into the English Channel or into the 
North Sea to attack French shipping or the French coast, 
the British fleet will give all the protection in its power. 
That answer is subject to the approval of Parliament. It is 
not a declaration of war. I understand that the German 
Government would be prepared, if we would pledge our- 
selves to neutrality, to agree that its fleet would not attack 
the northern coast of France. That is far too narrow an 
engagement." 

Sir Edward Grey then recited the history of Belgian 
neutrality, saying: 

"Our interest is as strong today as it was in 1870. We 
cannot take a less serious view of our obligations no' r than 
did the late Mr. Gladstone in that year. When mobilization 
began I telegraphed to both the French and German Gov- 
ernments, asking whether they would respect Belgian neu- 
trality. France replied that she was prepared to do so un- 
less another power violated that neutrality. The German 
Foreign Secretary replied that he could not possibly give 
a response before consulting the Imperial Chancellor and the 
German Emperor. He intimated that he doubted whether 
it was possible to give an answer, because that answer would 
disclose the German plans. We were sounded last week as 



84 The Invasion of Luxemburg 

to whether, if Belgian neutrality were restored after the war 
it would pacify us, and we replied that we could not barter 
our interests or our obligations." 

Toward the close of his speech Sir Edward said: 
"We must be prepared, and we are prepared, to face the 
consequences of using all our strength at any moment, we 
know not how soon, in order to defend ourselves." 
In other parts of his speech Sir Edward had said: 
"The intervention with Germany in regard to the inde- 
pendence of Belgium was carried out by England last night. 
If the independence of Belgium should be destroyed the in- 
dependence of Holland also would be gone. Do not imagine 
that if a great power stands aside in a war like this it is 
going to be in a position to exert its influence at the end. I 
am not quite sure whether the facts regarding Belgium are 
as they reached this Government, but there is an obligation 
on this country to do its utmost to prevent the consequences 
to which those facts would lead if they were not opposed. 
So far as the forces of the Crown are concerned, the Premier 
and the First Lord of the Admiralty have no doubt what- 
ever of their readiness and their efficiency. They never were 
at a higher mark of readiness. There never was a time 
when confidence was more justified in their ability to protect 
our shores and our commerce." 




■^ober.t -e 

CAR.-! £ ft. -tf 



1870— THE PILOTS— 1914 



86 



The Invasion of Luxemburg 




10 ARMS! 



CHAPTER VI 

FIVE NATIONS IN THE GRIP OF WAR 

Great Britain Declares War on Germany — Kaiser Blames 
Other Nations for Trouble — Czar Puts Blame on Ger- 
many — France also Blames Kaiser's Government — 
Montenegro Declares War on Austria — Great Britain 
Declares War on Austria. 

SIR HOWARD GREY'S speech indicated the prelimi- 
nary step to Great Britain's becoming involved in the 
war of nations. Twenty- four hours later the Brit- 
ish Government declared war on Germany follow- 
ing the expiration of the time limit set in her 
ultimatum to Germany demanding a satisfactory reply 
on the subject of Belgian neutrality. Germany's reply 
was the summary rejection of the request that Belgian neu- 
trality should he respected. These words brought the force 
of British arms with France, Russia, Belgium and Servia 
against Germany and Austria-Hungary: 

"Owing to the summary rejection hy the German Gov- 
ernment of the request hy His Britannic Majesty's Govern- 
ment that the neutrality of Belgium should he respected, 
His Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin has received his pass- 
ports and His Majesty's Government has declared to the 
German Government that a state of war exists between 

87 



88 Five Nations in the Grip of War 

Great Britain and Germany from 11 o'clock P. M., August 

4» 

On the day Great Britain declared war Emperor Wil- 
liam in opening the Imperial Parliament again declared he 
was forced to grasp the sword, saying: 

THE KAISER'S SPEECH 

"The world has been a witness of the indefatigable man- 
ner in which we stood in the front rank during the worries 
and troubles of recent years in the endeavor to spare the 
nations of Europe from a war between the great powers. 
The greatest perils which had arisen owing to the events in 
the Balkans appeared to have been overcome, but then the 
assassination of my friend, the Archduke Francis Ferdi- 
nand, opened up a great abyss. My ally, the Emperor 
Francis Joseph, was compelled to take up arms for the pro- 
tection of his empire against the dangerous agitation exist- 
ing in a neighboring state. In pursuing its interests the 
Russian Empire stepped in the way of Austria-Hungary. 

"Not only our duty as an ally called us to the side of 
Austria-Hungary, but the great task was cast upon us at the 
same time, with the ancient community of culture of the 
two empires, to protect our own position against the at- 
tack of unfriendly forces. It was with a heavy heart that 
I was compelled to mobilize my army against a neighbor 
with whose troops mine had fought side by side on so many 
fields of battle, and with sincere regret I saw the breaking 
of a friendship to which Germany had been so faithful. The 
imperial Russian Government, giving way to an insatiable 
nationalism, has stepped to the side of a state which, through 



Five Nations in the Grip of War 89 

a criminal act, had brought about the calamity of this war. 
That France also placed herself on the side of our opponent 
was not surprising to us. Only too often had our efforts to 
bring about more friendly relations with the French Repub- 
lic come into contact with the expression of old hopes and 
with long standing malice. 

"The present situation arose not from temporary con- 
flicts of interest or diplomatic combinations, but is the result 
of ill-will existing for years against the strength and pros- 
perity of the German Empire. We are not pushed on by 
the desire of conquest. We are moved by the unbending 
desire to secure for ourselves and those coming after us the 
place on which God has put us. My Government, and above 
all my Chancellor, tried until the last moment to prevent 
the worst happening. In enforced self-defense, with clear 
conscience and clean hands we grasp the sword. To the peo- 
ples and races of the German Empire my appeal goes forth 
to stand together fraternally with our allies in defense of 
that which we have created in peaceful work. 

"Following the example of our forefathers, firm and 
faithful, earnest and chivalrous, humble before our God and 
ready to fight when in face of the enemy, let us confide our- 
selves to the everlasting Almighty, who will strengthen our 
defense and conduct it to a good end." 

THE CZAR'S MANIFESTO 

The day previous the Czar of Russia had laid the blame 
for the trouble at the Kaiser's door. The manifesto issued 
by Nicholas was as follows: 

"By the grace of God we, Nicholas II., Emperor and 



90 Five Nations in the Grip of War 

autocrat of all the Russians, King of Poland and Grand 
Duke of Finland, etc., to all our faithful subjects make 
known that Russia, related by faith and blood to the Slav 
peoples and faithful to her historical traditions, has never 
regarded her fates with indifference. But the fraternal 
sentiments of the Russian people for the Slavs have been 
awakened with perfect unanimity and extraordinary force 
in these last few days when Austria-Hungary knowingly ad- 
dressed to Servia claims inacceptable for an independent 
state. Having paid no attention to the pacific and concilia- 
tory reply of the Servian Government, and having rejected 
the benevolent intervention of Russia, Austria- Hungary 
made haste to proceed to an armed attack and began to bom- 
bard Belgrade, an open place. 

"Forced by the situation thus created to take necessary 
measures of precaution, we ordered the army and the navy 
put on a war footing, at the same time using every endeavor 
to obtain a peaceful solution. Pourparlers were begun amid 
friendly relations with Germany and her ally, Austria, for 
the blood and the property of our subjects were dear to us. 
Contrary to our hopes in our good neighborly relations of 
long date, and disregarding our assurances that the mobiliza- 
tion measures taken were in pursuance of no object hostile 
to her, Germany demanded their immediate cessation. Be- 
ing rebuffed in this demand, Germany suddenly declared 
war on Russia. Today it is not only the protection of a 
country related to us and unjustly attacked that must be ac- 
corded, but we must safeguard the honor, the dignity and the 
integrity of Russia and her position among the great powers. 

"We believe unshakably that all our faithful subjects 
will rise with unanimity and devotion for the defense of 



Five Nations in the Grip of War 91 

Russian soil; that internal discord will be forgotten in this 
threatening hour; that the unity of the Emperor with his 
people will become still more close, and that Russia, rising 
like one man, will repulse the insolent attack of the enemy. 
With a profound faith in the justice of our work, and with 
a humble hope in omnipotent Providence in prayer, we call 
God's blessing on holy Russia and her valiant troops." 

THE FRENCH PREMIERES STATEMENT 

When Great Britain declared war on Germany the 
French Minister of War announced that his country was 
also officially at war with Germany. When Premier Viviani 
made the French Government's statement on the war in the 
Chamber of Deputies on August 4 his remarks roused the 
deepest enthusiasm. He detailed at great length the history 
of the events of the past fortnight, presenting strong argu- 
ments in the case against Germany, which, he declared, 
"irrefutably and logically justified the acts of the French 
Government." 

During the course of his remarks the Premier said : 
"France has been unjustly provoked — she did not seek 
the war ; she has done all in her power to avoid it. Since war 
was forced upon her she will defend herself against Ger- 
many and any other power who, not yet having made known 
its sentiments, takes part by the side of Germany in the con- 
flict between the two countries. Against an attack which 
violates all the laws of equity and all the rights of nations 
we have now taken all necessary dispositions. They will be 
carried out rigorously, methodically and calmly. The mobil- 
ization of the Russian army is proceeding with remarkable 
energy and boundless enthusiasm." 




MOBILIZED 



Five Nations in the Grip of War 



93 




AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING 



94 Five Nations in the Crip of War 

The House turned toward the Russian Minister, M. 
Iswolsky, who sat in the diplomatic gallery, and cheered 
Russia. 

The Premier continued: 

"Belgium now has 250,000 men in arms, prepared to de- 
fend with magnificent ardor the neutrality and independence 
of their native land. The English fleet is mobilized to the 
smallest vessel and the English army is mobilizing." 

The Deputies rose again and turned toward where the 
British Ambassador, Sir Francis Bertie, was sitting, in the 
gallery, and cheered wildly round after round. 

The French Minister of War issued the following note 
earlier in the day: 

"The German Ambassador has demanded his passports, 
and diplomatic relations between France and Germany 
have been broken off. 

"War is declared." 

The Government sent a message to Jules Cambon, 
French Ambassador in Berlin, telling him to ask for his 
passports and to leave the embassy and consulate in the care 
of the United States. 

Two more declarations of war followed within a week. 
The first was when little Montenegro lined up with the allies 
against Germany and Austria by declaring war against the 
latter country on August 8. In this connection came a dec- 
laration from the Czar of Russia that it was a Slav war. 
Addressing the members of the Council of the Empire and 
the Duma in audience at the Winter Palace Nicholas said: 

"In these days of alarm and anxiety through which Rus- 
sia is passing, I greet you. Germany, following Austria, 
has declared war on Russia. The enormous enthusiasm, the 



Five Nations in the Grip of War 95 

patriotic sentiments and the love and loyalty to the throne — 
an enthusiasm which has swept like a hurricane through the 
country — guarantee for me, as for you, I hope, that Russia 
will bring to a happy conclusion the war which the Almighty 
has sent it. It is also because of this unanimous enthusiasm, 
love and eagerness to make every sacrifice, even of life itself, 
that I am able to regard the future with calm firmness. It is 
not only the dignity and honor of our country that we are de- 
fending, but we are fighting for brother Slavs, co-religion- 
ists, blood brothers. 

"I see also with joy the union of the Slavs with Russia 
progressing strongly and indissolubly. I am persuaded that 
all and each of you will be in your place to assist me to sup- 
port the test, and that all, beginning with myself, will do 
their duty. Great is the God of the Russian Fatherland!" 

GREAT BRITAIN DECLARES WAR ON AUSTRIA 

On August 12, Great Britain made her stand clear to 
take a leading part in the struggle when she declared war 
on Austria. This was done by handing the Austro-Hun- 
garian Ambassador his passports. The British Foreign Of- 
fice issued the following statement in doing so : 

"His Majesty's government has declared to His Excel- 
lence the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador that they feel 
themselves obliged to announce that a state of war exists be- 
tween Great Britain and Austria-Hungary as from midr 
night," 

Austria later attacked Great Britain for her stand in the 
following note: 

"Austria's war against Servia, an independent state, and 



96 



Five Nations in the Grip of War 



for a cause which did not affect international politics, can- 
not be considered as the cause for the present European 
war." 

Great Britain's note to Austria, the statement continued, 
failed to point out the fact that Austria was obliged to de- 
clare war against Russia because the latter's mobilization 
threatened Austria. It is denied that Austria sent troops 
to the frontier, a fact, the statement says, which France al- 
ready knew from the Austrian Ambassador. The note 
ended : 

"It is evident that Great Britain's alleged reasons for de- 
claring war not only are arbitrary alterations of facts, but 
deliberate lies. England has thus lightly broken her tradi- 
tional friendship with Austria in order to support France; 
but, nevertheless, she will not find Austria unprepared." 




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A.FTER T11K WAR 



CHAPTER VII 

JAPAN TAKES A HAND IN THE TROUBLE 

Japan Soon Takes Steps to Take a Hand in the Great War 
— Kiaochou. Territory Leased by Germany in China 
Causes Japan to Prepare for War — Mikado's Govern- 
ment Sends am, Ultimatum to Germany Demanding that 
German Ships Leave Oriental Waters and That Ger- 
many Evacuate Kiaochou — Time Limit Set in Note 
Expires with Germany Failing to Notice the Communi- 
cation — Japan Declares War on Germany — Japan's 
Strength on Land That Is Thrown in with the Allies — 
Strength of the Japanese Navy. 

JAPAN did not wait long to become embroiled in the great 
European struggle. The Mikado's Government, it 
seemed, had been casting covetous eyes on Kiaochou for some 
time and on August 23, only a few days, so to speak, after the 
Kaiser had shown his hand, the Eastern people were at war 
with the Germans. On August 15 the Japanese Government 
sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding the withdrawal 
of the German warships from the Orient and the evacuation 
of Kiaochou and giving Germany until August 23 to comply 
with the demand and until September 15 in which actually 
to carry out the evacuation. 

97 



98 Japan Takes a Hand in Ihe Trouble 

The ultimatus ultimatum was as follows: 

"We consider it highly important and necessary in the 
present situation to take measures to remove the causes of 
all disturbances of the peace in the Far East, and to safe- 
guard the general interests as contemplated by the agree- 
ment of alliance between Japan and Great Britain. 

"In order to secure a firm and enduring peace in Eastern 
Asia, the establishment of which is the aim of the said agree- 
ment, the Imperial Japanese Government sincerely believes 
it to be its duty to give the advice to the Imperial German 
Government to carry out the following two propositions : 

"First — To withdraw immediately from Japanese and 
Chinese waters German men-of-war and armed vessels of all 
kinds, and to disarm at once those which cannot be so with- 
drawn. 

"Second — To deliver on a date not later than September 
15 to the Imperial Japanese authorities, without condition 
or compensation, the entire leased territory of Kiaochou, with 
a view to the eventual restoration of the same to China. 

"The Imperial Japanese Government announces at the 
same time that in the event of it not receiving by noon on 
August 23, 1914, an answer from the Imperial German 
Government signifying its unconditional acceptance of the 
above advice offered by the Imperial Japanese Government, 
Japan will be compelled to take such action as she may deem 
necessary to meet the situation." 

KIAOCHOU THE BONE OF CONTENTION 

Kiaochou was the only European holding in that section 
of China and diplomats declared at the time Japan issued 



Japan Takes a Hand in the Trouble 99 

its ultimatum to Germany that the Mikado was anxious to 
get the region and that if he did not obtain it during the 
European crisis it was only a question of time when he 
would do so. The German Government, as was expected, 
refused to accede to Japan's demands. In fact Germany 
took no notice of the communication. So it was that on 
August 23, when the time limit stated in the ultimatum had 
expired, that Japan joined the warring nations. Her dec- 
laration of war on Germany which lined her up with the 
allies was as follows: 

"We, by the grace of heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated 
on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time 
immemorial, do hereby make the following proclamation to 
all our loyal and brave subjects: 

"We hereby declare war against Germany, and we com- 
mand our army and navy to carry on hostilities against that 
empire with all their strength, and we also command all our 
competent authorities to make every effort, in pursuance of 
their respective duties, to attain the national aim by all means 
within the limits of the law of nations. 

"Since the outbreak of the present war in Europe, calami- 
tous effect of which we view with grave concern, we, on our 
part, have entertained hopes of preserving peace of the Ear 
East by the maintenance of strict neutrality, but the action 
of Germany has at length compelled Great Britain, our ally, 
to open hostilities against that country, and Germany is at 
Kiaochou, its leased territory in China, busy with warlike 
preparations, while its armed vessels, cruising seas of Eastern 
.Asia, are threatening our commerce and that of our ally. 
[Peace of the Far East is thus in jeopardy. 



100 Japan Takes a Hand in the Trouble 

"Accordingly, our Government and that of His Britannic 
Majesty, after full and frank communication with each 
other, agreed to take such measures as may be necessary for 
the protection of the general interests contemplated in the 
agreement of alliance, and we, on our part, being desirous 
to attain that object by peaceful means, commanded our 
Government to offer with sincerity an advice to the Imperial 
German Government. 

"By the last day appointed for the purpose, however, our 
Government failed to receive an answer accepting their 
advice. It is with profound regret that we, in spite of our 
ardent devotion to the cause of peace, are thus compelled to 
declare war, especially at this early period of our reign, and 
while we are still in mourning for our lamented mother. 

"It is our earnest wish that, by the loyalty and valor of 
our faithful subjects, peace may soon be restored and the 

glory of the empire he enhanced." 

« 

WAR FEVER RAMPANT IN JAPAN 

Japan had had the war fever for some days and the 
declaration of war was received with great enthusiasm in 
Tokio. Japan took prompt steps to enforce her demands on 
Germany. The Mikado's Government apparently was ready 
for war. In any event the declaration of war by the 
Japanese left Germany and Austria arrayed against a great 
host of men. At this time the two parties to the old triple 
alliance were at war with Russia, France, England, Belgium, 
Servia, Montenegro and Japan. It was a great force that 
these allies commanded, one far in excess of the land and 
sea forces of Germany and Austria. 



Japan Takes a Hand in the Trouble 101 

Japan was able to put 1,000,000 more fighting men in 
the field against Germany and Austria. She also had 181 
warships to add to the combined fleets of the allies. This 
brought the land forces of the allies up to a strength almost 
double that on land and several times as great on sea. In 
addition to the 1,000,000 available men Japan had to put in 
the field she had a powerful reserve army. 

It is true that Japan had suffered great financial loss in 
the war with Russia and was in a poor condition so far as 
ability to wage war was concerned in the matter of wealth 
but the war fever was rampant in Japan and the Mikado's 
Government was anxious to drive the Germans from 
Kiaochou even if it was necessary to plunge the country 
into a war that might cost millions. Japan did not reckon 
the cost. Whether it was so that she was seeking an excuse, 
as many diplomats said, is a question. But certain it was 
that Japan acted promptly in delivering an ultimatum to 
Germany and in taking quick action on Germany's failure 
to answer the communication. 



102 Japan Takes a Hand in the Trouble 




HOME, SWEET HOME 



CHAPTER VIII 
YOUNG KING OF THE BELGIANS 

Grandson of a German Prince — His Queen the Grand 
Niece of the Murdered Empress of Austria — His Visit 
to America When Crown Prince — His Large Posses- 
sions in the Congo with 30,000,000 Belgian Subjects — 
A Democratic Monarch, 

KING ALBERT of the Belgians also became a prom- 
inent personality early in the struggle. When he made 
such a brilliant record as a soldier while the Germans were 
battering at the gates of his nation the civilized world awoke 
to the fact that his would be a name that would go down in 
history. King Albert is the grandson of the first King of 
the Belgians, a German prince from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 
who was invited to rule as Leopold I. His sovereignty 
lasted for thirty-four years. The sovereignty of his son, 
Leopold II., lasted for forty-four years. That of his grand- 
son, King Albert, began only in 1909. Belgium has been 
prosperous and united under their rule. Each sovereign 
identified himself thoroughly with his subjects and gave his 
life to the adopted country so completely that the royal fam- 
ily of Belgium is considered by the Belgians themselves as 
Belgian. 

103 



104 You Jig King of the Belgians 

King Albert and Queen Elizabeth have had to sacrifice 
their nearest and dearest family ties to remain loyal to Bel- 
gium during this war. Both are as German as centuries of 
German blood can make them. The Queen, who is the 
daughter of Duke Carl Theodore of Bavaria, one of the most 
celebrated eye specialists of his generation, is the name-sake 
and god-daughter of her aunt, the murdered Empress Eliza- 
beth of Austria. She had always maintained the most af- 
fectionate relations with her uncle, the Emperor Francis 
Joseph, whose army was allied to Germany's. 

KING ALBERT KNOWN TO AMERICANS 
HIS VISIT TO AMERICA 

King Albert was thirty-nine years old and Queen Eliza- 
beth a year younger at the outbreak of the war. Many 
Americans have met the king. In 1898 he visited America 
for several months. He had dinner in Washington with 
President and Mrs. McKinley, went to Newport to be enter- 
tained by Mrs. Potter Palmer, took luncheon at the Law- 
yers' Club in Wall street with Frederic R. Coudert, went 
over to the Standard Oil works at Bayonne, N. J., visited 
the United States Navy Yards and saw also a cavalry drill, 
and as a diversion after such strenuous labors tried to visit 
the scene of a murder in Brooklyn. A burly policeman 
baffled him, ordering him away from the house of crime. 
The oil fields in Western Pennsylvania were thoroughly 
inspected and the manufacturing establishments in Massa- 
chusetts investigated, after which Prince Albert — as he was 
then — went out West and made a tour with J. J. Hill of the 
railroad centres. Society hastened to entertain him where- 



Young King of the Belgians 105 

ever he went and occasionally it interfered with the engineer- 
ing and industrial studies he was making by the commands 
of his uncle, King Leopold II., in order to fit him for his 
later duties as King, so that he finally hid his identity under 
an assumed name. In New Orleans he was C. A. Harris. 
In St. Louis he stayed for three days at a hotel as "John 
Banks of New York." 

In 1909, a few months before he became King, he vis- 
ited the Belgian Congo, where he had 30,000,000 subjects 
and a territory which yielded great revenues to his private 
purse as well as to the Belgian Government. The Belgian 
Congo was Leopold II.'s gift to the nation which elected to 
have his father come from Germany to rule over them. Its 
government has been full of difficult problems, which Leo- 
pold II.'s masterful mind ignored, having in view only its 
development to increase the wealth and importance of Bel- 
gium, but King Albert carried out reforms in the Congo to 
add to the happiness of the natives. King Leopold con- 
trolled it personally, King Albert had to share its control 
with his Government, sharing also its revenues with the 
nation. His private fortune was twenty-odd millions of 
dollars, in addition to a sufficient grant from the state to 
maintain his palaces and household. 

NO TAX FOE A CORONATION 

He and Queen Elizabeth did not have any formal corona- 
tion, such as most of the other sovereigns have, following the 
example of Leopold II., who gave to the people the large 
sum of money, many thousands of dollars, for which they 
had been taxed to pay for the coronation. The new King 



106 Young King of the Belgians 

and Queen had, however, a state entry into Brussels the day 
before Christmas in 1909, when the cannon boomed a royal 
salute and the church bells rang out as hundreds of thousands 
of their subjects from all quarters of the small kingdom 
shouted themselves hoarse in welcome. The Queen rode 
first in the procession, sitting in the royal coach with her 
children, Prince Leopold and Prince Charles and the dainty 
little Princess Marie Jose, the coach drawn by six horses 
in gay harness and escorted by a squadron of soldiers; the 
King, behind them, astride a spirited horse, looking quite 
kingly in his military uniform of white embroidered in gold, 
and with his own military escort. 

He and the Queen have been democratic, easily acces- 
sible to all classes of society, and they became so popular 
that the Socialists who used to demand a republic for Bel- 
gium, were seldom heard from. 

The court at Brussels was visited by many foreigners 
during King Albert's reign and was considered one of the 
most delightful courts of Europe. 



CHAPTER IX 
GERMANY'S WAR LORD 

Personal Description of Kaiser Wilhelm II — His Work as 
Emperor and Methods of Life — Has a Big Body, Short 
Legs and a Withered Arm — The German Navy His 
Personal Creation — His Income $7,000,000 a Year — 
His Hobbies. 

BULKING largest in the great struggle which tore 
Europe asunder was Emperor William of Germany. 
Often times he had been called the War Lord and the manner 
in which he took the aggressive and began to force matters 
at the opening of the campaign seemed to prove that he had 
the right of title as a son of Mars. He personally encour- 
aged his men and his warlike utterances thrilled the German 
Empire. He took the attitude that Germany would fight 
the whole world if necessary. He held that the sword had 
been forced into his hand, that other nations were jealous 
of Germany and that they alone were to blame for the great 
war. His attitude was one of studied aggressiveness and 
whatever the merits of his claims he didn't waste time in 
pushing matters. 

A year before the war Germany was celebrating the 
quarter of a century reign of William II. At the time Ger- 
many was in a great state of prosperity following a long 

107 



108 Germany's War Lord 

period of peace with a big increase in the population and a 
corresponding large increase in the wealth of the nation. 
Then the Kaiser risked everything by casting the mailed 
gauntlet in the face of Europe. But this did not seem to 
bother him and he had the mass of his people behind him. 

The following describes him at the outbreak of the great 
war of 1914: 

William II, "Der Kaiser" — for Bismarck insisted that 
the new German emperors should assume the ancient style 
of the old emperors of Germany — the ninth monarch of the 
House of Hohenzollern to rule over the Kingdom of Prus- 
sia and the third of the house to rule over the Empire of 
United Germany. He is a gray-haired man of fifty-five, 
not more than 5 feet 8 or 9, with a distinct tendency to cor- 
pulency. He carries most of his fat about his waist, and 
although he bears himself erect his shoulders are round. His 
legs are too short for his body, but when walking he takes 
long strides and lets his gold spurs clank. Of late years he 
has worn a flowing military cape, as it permits him to retain 
something of the martial air of his younger days. Naturally 
he looks his best when on horseback. 

The real countenance of the much advertised man was 
perceptibly different from the thousands of his portraits on 
sale all over the world which showed the dashing, dauntless, 
somewhat defiant head of the Hohenzollerns. That is a pose 
assumed for the photographer, a pose intended to idealize 
him to his subjects and to convey the impression that "Der 
Kaiser" is devoted to lofty aims and is elevated above the 
common herd. All his official photographs have the same 
expression, the look that the Germans call "ernst," but his 



Germany's War Lord 109 

natural face is a very sad face furrowed by anxiety ; a casual 
observer might say that he looks cross. 

KAISER A CRIPPLE FROM BIRTH 

The Kaiser's face is always pale and pasty and after 
fatigue or in illness he looks ashen gray. He has been a 
cripple from birth. His left arm was injured so severely by 
the straining of the main nerves that it is atrophied and 
shrunken and hangs limp and practically useless save to 
repose on the gold sword hilt at his side. The extent to 
which this cripples his movements can best be judged by the 
fact that he cannot even hold a fork in his left hand and eats 
with one which he holds in his right and which has a specially 
heavy outside prong with a flat cutting edge that answers the 
purposes of a knife as well. Yet by a wonderful display of 
pluck, perseverance and suppleness he has made himself an 
adept at most sports. He can fence, swim, row, shoot, ride 
and play billiards a great deal better than many men who 
have the use of both their arms. In shooting he takes aim 
with his right arm, and only when hunting big game does he 
use a resting rod ; at billiards he places his left arm in posi- 
tion on the table with his right and then rests the cue upon 
it in the ordinary way ; on horseback he merely supports the 
reins in his left hand, which is held in place by an ingenious 
contrivance, and guides his charger with his knees. 

Since Frederick the Great no German ruler has under- 
stood the business of being emperor as well as the Kaiser. 
He has many traits in common with his illustrious ancestor — 
a love of order, a love of business, the taste for things mili- 
tary, a boundless extravagance in some things and the mean- 



110 Germany's War Lord 

est parsimony in others, an imperial spirit and an irritable 
temper. His mind is like an elephant's trunk, which finds 
it just as easy to pick up a needle as to unroot a tree. Take 
his hobbies, for instance. One is the navy. In 1871 the 
ships that flew the flag of the North German Confederation 
— that striking design of black and white and red which is the 
battle emblem of the Kaiser's navy today — were so weak that 
they could take little part in the conflict, and France was 
able to bottle up the North Sea with impunity. Today the 
German navy is second only to that of England. 

The German navy is literally the Kaiser's own personal 
creation. He is one of the greatest living authorities on 
naval construction, and his collection of ship models is per- 
haps the finest and most costly in the world. No error of 
proportion is too slight, no mistake in construction is too 
insignificant to escape his critical eye, and his knowledge of 
things naval can truly be said to spring from a real love of 
the sea. For years he labored to fire his people with the 
same spirit, and at last succeeded. He forced enormous 
credits from reluctant parliaments, built the ships and found 
the crews to man them. Not only did he build up the navy, 
he also built up a merchant marine, and when the war started 
Germany had nearly four million tons of shipping on the 
seven seas. In contrast, the Kaiser's other hobby is collecting 
old shoes. He has the slippers of Voltaire and those of the 
great Napoleon, the riding boots of Wallenstein and the tiny 
dancing shoes of Talma. 

HIS SUCCESS AS A BUSINESS MAN 

The same extraordinary contradictions are carried into 
his finances. The Kaiser's income is derived from his hered- 



Germany's War Lord 111 

itary kingdom of Prussia and from a vast amount of pri- 
vate property comprising castles, forests and landed estates. 
AJso he is credited with having made millions in business ven- 
tures, owning a considerable interest in one of the transatlan- 
tic lines and in most of the German railroads. In 1910 it 
was conservatively estimated that his total revenue exceeded 
£7,000,000 a year, but it was probably more. 

Although he is modest and simple to a degree in his per- 
sonal tastes, and smokes penny Dutch cigars, he is extrava- 
gant in the maintenance of an imperial show and display. 
He spends millions upon millions of marks every year and 
las incurred immense debts in order to uphold the standard 
)f imperial luxury suited to the power, prestige and dignity 
3f his position. No court in Europe since that of Louis 
KIV of France has approached the splendor of the Kaiser's, 
10 monarch has had more servile courtiers, and it is astonish- 
ing that he has retained as many homely virtues as he has. 
IVherever he goes, whatever he does, he is surrounded by aris- 
tocratic satellites, and he lives continually in an environment 
that tends to increase his haughtiness and imperial pride and 
the sense of his own importance. 

The pomp and ceremony of the formal court functions 
ire imposing in the highest degree, but although the Kaiser 
insists unrelentingly upon the rigid etiquette laid down by 
the German protocol, and will not permit even the highest 
sfficers of his army or the proudest of his nobles to depart one 
hair's breadth from the ceremonial that must be observed in 
his presence, he can when it serves his purpose, either for per- 
sonal profit or national aggrandizement, be friends with men 
who are not of noble birth. Among his intimates are Herr 



112 Germany's War Lord 

Ballin, the manager of a steamship line; Herr Belbriich, a 
Berlin banker, and Herr Friedlander, a coal merchant. 

It is from men that he learns, not from books. Thus 
when Roentgen discovered the "X" rays the Kaiser sent for 
him and spent hours questioning him on every phase of his 
discovery. His thirst for knowledge was such that he never 
stopped till he had extracted from the great savant all the 
information he had upon the subject. 

THE KAISERIN 

In 1881 the Kaiser married Princess Augusta Victoria, 
daughter of the Duke of Augustenburg, who in 1864 had 
come forward as a claimant to the Duchy of Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, and by her he has had six sons and one daughter. The 
Empress has not been without influence on his family life, 
which, compared to that of the other Hohenzollerns, has been 
remarkably free from left-handed love affairs. At least she 
has not had to lead the life of anxious jealousy that was the 
portion of his grandmother and mother. The Empress is 
his ideal of womanhood, a wife that loves, honors and obeys 
her husband and is a fond and productive mother. Political 
influence she never tries to exert, but devotes her time to the 
"Kaiser, Kinder, Kirche, Kochen und Kleider" (Kaiser, 
children, church, cooking and clothes). 

Even at his silver wedding, standing beside the Empress, 
surrounded by their children, his first thoughts were not for 
them. "My first and last care is for my fighting forces on 
land and sea." 



CHAPTER X 

THE RUSSIAN COMMANDER 

The Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevitch Was Prominent 
in the Russo-Japanese War — One of the Finest Cavalry 
Officers of the Great Empire — His Mother a German — 
"Known as the Strong Man of Russia Who Might Be- 
come Regent or Even Czar. 

GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS, the leader of the Rus- 
sian forces, was a commanding figure in the great war. 
The Czar is nominally the supreme commander of the Rus- 
sian army as well as of the Russian navy, and it is understood 
that when war was declared he was ambitious to place him- 
self at the head of the troops in the field. But he was per- 
suaded to delegate the supreme command of the army at 
the outset to his cousin the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholae- 
vitch, a soldier in looks, one of the tallest men in the army, 
and the finest cavalry officer of the empire, making a splen- 
did appearance on a horse ; and a commander of long experi- 
ence who was one of the chief officers of the Russo-Japanese 
war. His executive ability was apparent when he acted 
as the head of the military commission in charge of the clos- 
ing operations of this war, and he was able to cope success- 
fully with revolution in Russia itself. 

113 






114 The Russian Commander 

LEADER OF THE ANTI-GERMAN FACTION 

The Grand Duke Nicholas was the strong man of the 
imperial family and always spoken of as the probable re- 
gent, if Russia should need a regent. The Czar's life, being 
in constant danger from the bombs of the Nihilists, and his 
only son, the Grand Duke Alexis, a little boy, the Grand 
Duke Nicholas, it was thought, might some day become 
regent and even Czar. 

As leader in the imperial family of the anti-German fac- 
tion he strenuously opposed those visits of state which have 
of recent years taken place between the Czar and the Kaiser, 
preferring to come out openly as the latter's enemy. But 
Grand Duke Nicholas might any place be taken for a Ger- 
man, with his blond hair and blue eyes. They are an inherit- 
ance from his German mother, who was a Duchess of Olden- 
burg, from the family which gave a wife to the Kaiser's 
second son, Prince Eitel, and an inheritance from his Ger- 
man grandmother. She was Princess Charlotte, the sister 
of Frederick William III., King of Prussia, and Great- 
grandfather of Kaiser William II. Princess Charlotte 
became Czarina of Russia by her marriage to the Czar 
Nicholas I. and her second son was the father of Grand 
Duke Nicholas. 



CHAPTER XI 
KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM 

The Great Soldier Who Was at the Head of England's 
War Department in the European War of 1914 — He 
Organized the British Army in India and Was Chief of 
Staff of Lord Roberts in the Boer War — How He De- 
stroyed the Tombs of the Prophets After Slaying 17 ,000 
of the Enemy in One Day, 

FIELD MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER, who was 
made Secretary of State of War when Great Britain 
declared war on Germany, took office as the British War 
Lord almost immediately. He is a picturesque figure al- 
though he lacks the glamor that surrounded the Kaiser. 
When the European crisis broke out Lord Kitchener was at 
home on furlough, his visit to England having a further 
purpose — that of receiving from the King a new honor, the 
dignity of an Earl and the titles Earl Kitchener of Khar- 
toum and Viscount Broome of Broome in the County of 
Kent. 

Lord Kitchener was born at Crotter House, Ballylong- 
ford, County Kerry, on June 24, 1850, his father being the 
late Lieutenant Colonel H. H. Kitchener of Cossington in 
Lancashire, and his mother a Miss Chevallier of Aspall Hall, 
Suffolk. Although born in Ireland, while his father was 

115 



116 Kitchener of Khartoum 

stationed there, he is of pure English stock and not Hiber- 
nian as frequently claimed. 

He was educated at the Royal Military College at Wool- 
wich and entered the Royal Engineers in 1871. As com- 
mander of the Egyptian Cavalry during the Soudan cam- 
paigns of 1882-84, he first came into public notice and estab- 
lished himself in public regard when he was made Governor 
of Suakim. In 1890 he was made Sirdar of Egypt and 
eight years later he commanded the famous Khartoum ex- 
pedition with conspicuous success and received the thanks of 
the government, was raised to the peerage and granted 
$510,000. 

HARD WORK IN THE DESERT 

This was the result of thirteen years of work in the 
desert when he silently pursued the Kalifa and his hordes, 
laying the railroad each mile as he pushed on, and met the 
enemy at last, destroying at the great battle of Omdurman 
nearly 17,000 in the day. He concluded his work by blow- 
ing up the Madhi's tomb, scattering the bones of the prophet 
to the four winds, and settling the sands of the desert over 
the spot where the tomb had been. For this he was se- 
verely criticised, and in the House of Commons he was cen- 
sured by some sentimentalists for an act of vandalism. He 
curtly replied that his instructions were to destroy the enemy, 
and he had done so, and to insure the future peace he had also 
destroyed the resting place of the prophet by whom the 
fanatics swore, as the tomb would have been a rallying cen- 
ter for the enemv. He had wiped out all traces of the 



Kitchener of Khartoum 117 

prophet and the followers. The resulting peace has jus- 
tified him. 

When, after the three awful disasters to British arms in 
South Africa under the command of General Buller, the 
Daily Mail came out with the placard, "The Government's 
Xmas present to the nation : Lord Roberts and Lord Kitch- 
ener to leave for the front," the whole British people gave a 
great sigh of relief; now the errors would be repaired. 
Roberts for tactics, Kitchener for organization. 

He lives for his life work; his passion is for efficiency. 
He serves no other god but the god of battles. His whole 
life was planning and organizing of forces. He never had 
a great reputation as a skilful leader in maneuvering; it is 
as an organizer that he is supreme. He greatly resembles 
the German tradition of soldiering, exact in equipment, 
mathematical in calculation, stern to ruthlessness to accom- 
plish his end. Yet he settled the Boer war by offering to the 
leaders of the Boers terms of surrender so generous that only 
a man of statesmanlike mind could have seen them to be 
justified. 

For his services as chief of staff in South Africa until 
Lord Roberts returned home, and as commander-in-chief 
until the conclusion of the war, he was advanced to the rank 
of a full general in the army and to a viscountcy in the peer- 
age. There was the further consolation of a grant by Par- 
liament of £250,000 which accompanied the thanks both 
houses of Parliament voted him. 

In 1902 he was sent to India as commander-in-chief, 
where he thoroughly reorganized the Indian army, in which 
operation he came into collision with Lord Curzon, who mar- 



118 Kitchener of Khartoum 

ried Maiy Leiter of Chicago, who resented his high-handed 
methods. 

His instructions were to reorganize the British army in 
India. This required appropriations largely in excess of the 
previous years. He sent the request for their approval to 
the Indian Council, over which Lord Curzon, not the least of 
autocrats himself, presided. Lord Curzon refused to pass 
them. Lord Kitchener's tone changed. Before he had 
asked, now he demanded. Lord Curzon refused with a curt- 
ness that showed he believed his will equal to the stern and 
immobile Kitchener. He was wrong. Lord Kitchener 
stood upon the broad authority of his commission, which was 
to reorganize the army in India, and he demanded that the 
home government support him. Lord Curzon stood upon 
his constitutional rights as the civil power to control and 
overrule the military. Lord Midleton, the life-long friend 
of Lord Curzon, his fag at Eton, to whom the appeal was 
made as Secretary of State for India, decided against Cur- 
zon and with Kitchener. Lord Curzon resigned and re- 
turned to England. 

HIS ADMINISTRATIVE WORK IN EGYPT 

Since 1911 he has held the post in Egypt made famous 
by Lord Cromer and his system of land reform and his en- 
couragement of cotton grownig on the Nile have shown him 
to be as great an administrator as he is soldier. His land 
reform system, modelled on the plan adopted by the United 
States in dealing with the American Indians, which forbids 
the native to sell his land to contractors, was the system 
advocated by the reform party in Mexico. 



Kitchener of Khartoum 119 

On his visit to America two years ago, Lord Kitchener 
made a very favorable impression, not by what he said but 
by his astonishing power of saying nothing and his im- 
perturbable demeanor. 

Although in his sixty-fifth year Lord Kitchener has the 
vigor of a man ten years younger. He is straight as a dart, 
stands six feet two inches, his black hair only slightly tinged 
with gray. His penetrating gray eyes and stern, cold ex- 
pression are the terror of army loafers, who either "get on 
or get out !" 

Lord Kitchener is a bachelor. Society he detests. For 
women he has no time. He dedicated himself to his work 
and did not believe in the domestic joys for the soldier. All 
his officers when he commanded the army in Egypt had to be 
bachelors. He did not want to have men around him sigh- 
ing for home and wife and children. Those things are not 
for a soldier in Kitchener's understanding of the life. 

kitchener's advice to his soldiers 

As soon as Lord Kitchener took charge of Great 
Britain's war affairs he issued a pamphlet advising his men 
how to conduct themselves. These were issued to the army 
which landed in France early in the struggle. They read 
as follows: 

"You are ordered abroad as soldiers of the King to help 
our French comrades against the invasion of a common 
enemy. 

"You have to perform a task which will need your cour- 
age, your energy and your patience. 

"Remember that the honor of the British army depends 
on your individual conduct. 



120 Kitchener of Khartoum 

"It will be your duty not only to set an example of dis- 
cipline and perfect steadiness under fire, but also to main- 
tain the most friendly relations with those whom you are 
helping in this struggle. 

"The operations in which you will be engaged will for 
the most part take place in a friendly country and you can 
do your own country no better service than in showing your- 
self in France and Belgium in the true character of a 
British soldier by being invariably courteous, considerate 
and kind. 

"Never do anything likely to injure or destroy prop- 
erty and always look upon rioting as a disgraceful act. 

"You are sure to meet with a welcome and to be trusted. 
Your conduct must justify that welcome and that trust. 

"Your duty cannot be done unless your health is sound 
so keep constantly on your guard against any excesses. 

"In this new experience you may find temptation both 
in wine and women. You must entirely resist both tempta- 
tions and while treating all women with perfect courtesy 
you should avoid any intimacy. 

"Do your duty bravely. Fear God and honor the King." 



CHAPTER XII 
A WAR OF COUSINS 

All of the Royal Families of Europe in the Great War of 
1914 Were Related by Blood or Marriage Except 
Servians — Many Grandchildren of King Christian of 
Denmark and Queen Victoria of England — Also Held 
Military Titles in Each Other's Armies and Navies — A 
Continental Family Row. 

VIRTUALLY all the embattled kings and queens of 
Europe in the great war of 1914 were cousins. 

Indeed, the only "outsider," who could claim no kinship 
with the rest, was King Peter of Servia, the immediate 
cause of the war, and the engagement had been announced 
of King Peter's son, Prince Alexander, Crown Prince of 
Servia, to Grand Duchess Olga, oldest daughter of the Czar 
of Russia. 

All their published photographs proclaim the cousinship 
of the King of England and the Czar of Russia. They could 
not look more alike if they were brothers. Their mothers 
are sisters, both daughters of Christian IX of Denmark and 
his matchmaking queen, who enjoyed the distinction of fur- 
nishing more kings and queens from her family than any 
other monarch of modern times — or ancient either, for that 
matter. 

Besides the beautiful Queen Alexandra, mother of King 

121 



122 A War of Cousins 

George of England and Dagmar, consort of Czar Alexander 
of Russia, the clever spouse of Christian IX gave two kings 
to European thrones, Frederick VIII of Denmark and the 
late King George of Greece. In addition, a son of Frederick 
was called to the throne of Norway as Haakon VII. 

QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGNING GRANDCHILDREN 

But, speaking of clever and matchmaking royal mammas, 
to the late Queen Victoria, grandmother of King George of 
England, belongs the palm. One of her daughters became 
the Empress of Germany, the mother of the present Kaiser. 
The following of her grandchildren occupied other European 
thrones : 

George V of England, son of Edward VII. 

Wilhelm II, Kaiser of Germany, son of Princess Victoria. 

The Czarina of Russia, daughter of Princess Alice. 

Queen Maud of Norway, daughter of King Edward. 

Queen Victoria of Spain, daughter of Princess Beatrice. 

Queen Sophia Dorothea of Greece, daughter of Princess 
Victoria. 

An interesting group of royal cousins is made up of 
the Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, King George of England 
and the Czarina of Russia. The Czarina is the daughter of 
the Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, a daughter of Prin- 
cess Alice of England, a daughter of Queen Victoria and an 
aunt of King George. 

The Kaiser is a son of Princess Victoria, who was mar- 
ried to the Kaiser Frederick III, who died a few months 
after his accession to the German throne and was succeeded 
by the present Kaiser. 



A War of Cousins 123 

A story is told that when Kaiser Wilhelm II was a mere 
boy, a playmate struck him by accident and made his nose 
bleed. When the playmate hastened to apologize the future 
Kaiser would not listen. 

"It's no matter," he replied as he wiped his bleeding nose. 
"There goes the last drop of English blood in my body." 

Nicholas I of Montenegro is entitled to a high place in 
the matchmaking class. The Queen of Italy was the Princess 
Helena of Montenegro. The Princess Militza of the same 
house is the wife of the Grand Duke Nicolaievitch of the 
Russian royal family, the Princess Anna was married to 
Prince Francis Joseph of Battenburg, and the Princess 
Anastasie to the Grand Duke Nicholas-Nicolaievitch. 

MONTENEGRIN HOUSE RELATED TO GREAT BRITAIN, 
GERMANY AND RUSSIA 

Through the Crown Princess Militza, who was married 
to the Montenegrin Crown Prince Alexander, the royal house 
of Montenegro was connected with that of Great Britain, 
Germany and Russia. The Crown Princess was the Duchess 
Jutta of Mechlinburg-Strelitz. She took the name Militza 
at her marriage. 

Through King Constantine of Greece, nearly all the 
crowned heads of Europe became cousins-in-law if they were 
not already blood cousins. King Constantine married Prin- 
cess Sophia, a sister of the present Kaiser, and thus came 
into more or less close relationship with many of the royal- 
ties of Europe. King Constantine is a son of that King 
George whom the matchmaking Queen of Denmark gave 
to the throne of Greece and thus a nephew of Alexandra, the 
"queen mother" of England and Dagnar, the Dowager 



124 A War of Cousins 

Czarina of Russia, and a cousin to about every royalty of his 
generation in Europe. 

When, at the opening of hostilities in the War of 1914, 
the territory of Belgium was threatened with invasion by the 
Germans, King Albert of Belgium wrote an appeal to King 
George of England to come to his assistance. He might 
have addressed his letter, "My dear Cousin," for he is a blood 
cousin of King George. Through Philip, Count of Flanders, 
King Albert was descended from Leopold I, Prince of Saxe- 
Coburg, who was elected King of the Belgians in 1831. 
Leopold I married Charlotte, Princess of Wales. 

King George of England and King Haakon of Norway 
are not only cousins but brothers-in-law. King Haakon mar- 
ried Princess Maud, King George's sister. He was a Danish 
prince before his election to the throne of Norway and a son 
of Frederick VIII, who married Louise, a daughter of 
Queen Victoria and King George's aunt. 

Innumerable royal alliances succeeded the union of the 
houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, through the 
marriage of King George III of England and Queen Char- 
lotte. Both Queen Victoria and her husband, besides other 
members of the families of Hanover, Saxe-Coburg and 
Gotha, were united by their progeny to scions of other royal 
houses and passed by marriage to Saxony, Hohenzollern, 
Austria, Bavaria, Portugal, Belgium, Baden, Hesse, France, 
Naples, Tuscany, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia Romania, the 
Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Spain, with all 
of whose royal families that of Great Britain is more or less 
remotely connected. 

The houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Hanover met 
again in the marriage of the Duke of Kent and Princess 



A War of Cousins 125 

Mary Louise. Their only daughter was Queen Victoria and 
when she was married to Albert, second son of the Duke of 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the two houses became practically one. 

This royal house of England goes back through George I 
to James I and Mary Queen of Scots and to the Guelphs 
whose ancestry is probably derived from the princely house 
of Este. 

Queen Wilhelmina of Holland is also a cousin, though 
somewhat further removed, of most of the royal houses of 
Europe. Through the marriage of William V, Prince of 
Orange and Sophia Wilhelmina, Princess of Prussia, from 
whom Wilhelmina is descended, she was closely connected 
with the reigning house of Germany. 

The royal family of Romania, through its Crown Prince, 
is closely related to other ruling families. Charles, King 
of Romania, married Elizabeth, Princess of Wied and their 
son, the Crown Prince Ferdinand Victor, married Princess 
Marie of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, daughter of the late Duke of 
Edinburgh, an uncle of King George of England. 

RUSSIAN AND GERMAN ROYAL MARRIAGES 

So many of the Grand Dukes of Russia have made mar- 
riages connecting them one or another of the many divisions 
of the German Empire that it has been said the ancient 
Romanoff" strain became almost as German as the Kaiser. 

Here is an instance of the close and intricate relations be- 
tween these two houses : Grand Duke Michael, the last sur- 
viving granduncle of the Russian Emperor Nicholas, died 



126 A War of Cousins 

in 1909. He had married the Princess Cecilia of Baden, j 
Their eldest daughter, Anastasia, was married to the Grand 
Duke of Mecklenburg- Schwerin. Her grand daughter is 
Cecilia, the German Crown Princess. 

A popular British Princess who is the consort to the heir 
to a throne is the Princess Margaret of Connaught, daughter 
of Duke Arthur of Connaught, a son of Queen Victoria. 
She is married to the Crown Prince of Sweden. Her sister 
is the favorite Princess "Pat," so much admired in America 
as well as in England. Through the Duke of Connaught 
and his sons and daughters there is another link with the Ger- 
man Empire, for the Duchess of Connaught, mother of the 
Swedish Crown Princess and of Princess "Pat," was the 
Princess Louise of Prussia. 

Some of of the various cousins of King George of Eng- 
land, all of whom are of royal blood, are Prince Ernest 
Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse; Princess Frederick Charles 
of Hesse, Princess Alexander of Hohenlohe, Leopold 
Charles Edward, reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; 
Charlotte, hereditary Princess of Saxe-Meiningen ; Princess 
Henrietta of Reuss, Princess Adolphus of Schaumberg- 
Lippe, the Duchess of Sparta, Princess Victoria of Batten- 
berg, Grand Duchess Sergius of Russia, Grand Duchess Cyril 
of Russia, Adolphus Frederick, reigning Grand Duke of 
Mecklenburg- Strelitz; Maria, Duchess of Orleans; the Prin- 
cess of Thurn and Taxis, Prince Gaston of Orleans, Prince 
Ernest Bernhard of Saxe-Altenburg, Archduchess Otho 
Francis Joseph of Austria and William Prince of Hohen- 
zollern. 



A War of Cousins 127 

MILITARY RELATIONSHIP OF WARRING RULERS 

There was even a sort of military cousinship between the 
principal reigning houses at war. Kaiser William, for in- 
stance, not only ranked as the admiral-in-chief of his own 
navy and general-in-chief of his own army, but also as a field 
marshal of Great Britain, an admiral of the British fleet, the 
colonel-in-chief of a regiment of British Royal Dragoons, a 
Danish, a .Norwegian and a Swedish admiral and most 
singularly of all, an admiral of the Russian fleet also. 

Queen Mary of England held the rank of a colonel of 
Prussian hussars. Queen Wilhelmina of Holland held titles, 
in the Prussian guard and German navy. Both the Czar and 
the Czarina of Russia could have gone on the field with 
their regiments of German soldiers to mow down the forces 
of Emperor William. The Emperor of Russia was com- 
mander of a Bavarian regiment and in the suite of the Ger- 
man navy; the Empress was commander of a regiment of 
dragoons of the Prussian guards. 

As if these tangled royal alliances were not already suffi- 
ciently puzzling, a number of matches were being arranged 
between the princes and princesses of these States. One 
was the marriage between Prince Alexander of Servia and 
the Grand Duchess Olga. The other two were those of 
Elizabeth, the granddaughter of the King of Roumania, to 
George, the Crown Prince of Greece, and of Prince Charles, 
the son of Crown Prince Ferdinand of Roumania, to the 
Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia. 



128 



A War of Cousins 




WAITING FOR ORDERS 



CHAPTER XIII 

ARMED STRENGTH OF WARRING NATIONS 

Strength of the Rival Nations — Twenty Million Men Pre- 
pare for War — Allies Have Advantage in Land Power — 
Naval Strength of Allies also Greater — Great Britain s 
Powerful Navy — Classification of Great Sea Fleets — 
Aerial Strength of Powers Favors Allies — Wealth of 
Warring Nations ', with Revenue, Expenditure and Debt 
— Cost of General War. 

WHEN the lines were finally drawn and the opening shots 
had been fired, approximately 20,000,000 men, the reg- 
ular forces of the rival armies, were being mobilized and 
pushed to the front. The allies, in regular troops greatly out- 
numbered Germany and Austria, the total number for 
France, Russia, Great Britain, Belgium, Servia and Monte- 
negro standing at 10,902,000 as against 7,200,000 for Ger- 
many and Austria. These forces were apportioned as fol- 
lows: France, 4,000,000; Russia, 5,500,000; England, 
730,000; Belgium, 222,000; Servia, 300,000; Montenegro, 
150,000; Germany, 5,200,000; Austria, 2,000,000. 

The unorganized strength of the warring nations, added 
to the organized gave the allies 17,721,000 men and Germany 
and Austria 11,200,000. The unorganized strength was: 

129 



130 Armed Strength of Warring Nations 

Russia, 5,200,000; France, 1,000,000; Great Britain, 
200,000; Belgium, 400,000; Servia, 100,000; Germany, 
1,000,000; Austria-Hungary, 3,000,000. 

In naval strength also the powers at war with Germany 
and Austria had an advantage. Relatively their sea strength 
was much greater than that of Germany and Austria, 
although neither Belgium, Servia nor Montenegro possessed 
any power on the water. Great Britain alone had more 
fighting craft than Germany and Austria combined and 
almost as many officers and men for duty on the sea. 

Great Britain war ships numbered 569, with a personnel 
of 163,700 men. France had 419 ships, manned by 60,621 
men and Russia had 220 ships with 52,463 men. The sea 
strength of these countries was classified as follows : 

Great Britain — dreadnoughts and cruiser battleships, 
thirty-nine; first class cruisers, forty-two; smaller craft, 488. 
France — dreadnoughts and cruiser battleships, seventeen; 
first class cruisers, eighteen; smaller craft, 384. Russia — 
dreadnoughts and cruiser battleships, thirteen; first class 
cruisers, six; smaller craft, 201. This gave the allies sixty- 
nine dreadnoughts and cruiser battleships; sixty-six first 
class cruisers and 1,073 smaller craft, manned by a total of 
276,784 officers and men. 

ALLIES HOLD ADVANTAGE ON SEA 

Turning to a table of the sea strength of Germany and 
Austria the advantage in favor of the allies is all too evident. 
Germany had only twenty-six dreadnoughts and cruiser 
battleships; nine first class cruisers and 290 smaller craft. 



Armed Strength of Warring Nations 131 

Austria had four dreadnoughts and cruiser battleships ; three 
first class cruisers and 107 smaller craft. This made up a 
total of the two countries of thirty dreadnoughts and cruiser 
battleships, twelve first class cruisers and 397 smaller craft, 
with a sea fighting force of 194,233 men. 

The German navy was a wonderfully efficient organiza- 
tion in a typically German way. There was no discounting 
the thoroughness with which the German fleet has been 
drilled, the faithfulness that has gone into its preparation, 
from driving the first rivet in each vessel's keel to the training 
of the turret-pointers and the drill at manoeuvring in 
squadron. 

CRITICISM OF FRENCH NAVY 

The French navy had come in in the past for some very 
hard knocks from the critics. Discipline in that service was 
declared to be just two jumps above the Russian standard 
and approximating that of Spain. France's long series of 
naval disasters were dragged out to prove that her navy is all 
but a hopeless affair. 

As a matter of fact, the French navy suffered from very 
much the same trouble as the Italian. The Latin doesn't 
maintain the Teutonic idea of discipline, but he seems to get 
along very well on his own peculiar lines. The French ships, 
like the Italian, are very near the dirtiest afloat, and this in 
itself is apt to prejudice an American critic. 

But while, to our minds, dirt and discipline are contra- 
dictory terms, there isn't any conclusive proof that dirt and 
straight shooting should be. And the French can show a 
very pretty article of the latter commodity. Ashore they are 



132 Armed Strength of Warring Nations 

handicapped by a great deal of graft and slack methods in 
their navy yards, but at sea the French are not only good 
sea-faring men, but plentifully supplied with enthusiasm for 
their profession. 

There are no naval men in the world who study their 
profession along scientific lines with the zeal the French put 
into it. Every one of them has tactics at his fingers' ends, 
and in the torpedo branches, destroyers and submarines, they 
easily led the world. 

The strength in the air was also in favor of the allies, 
numerically at least. Germany had a powerful fleet of 
Zeppelins, which many experts on aviation declared before 
the war would play an important part in the struggle and 
be of great aid to the Germans. 

STRENGTH FOR BATTLES IN CLOUDS 

The following table shows the fighting strength of the 
great powers in the war: 

DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIPS OF THE RIVAL POWERS 

Germany and Austria 

Non- Semi- Gas capacity 

Germany rigid rigid Rigid Totals in cu. ft. 

War airships 3 

Passenger airships .... 2 
Austria 

War airships 1 

Passenger airships 1 

Grand totals .... 



2 


6 


11 




1 


3 


6 


8,616,730 


1 




2 








1 

20 


561,270 




9,178,000 



Armed Strength of Warring Nations 133 

In construction January 1, 1914— 

Germany-Five large rigid type; capacity, 4,200,700 

cubic feet. 

Allies 
Non- Semi- Gas capacity 

France rigid rigid Rigid Totals incu.ft. 

War airships 9 3 1 13 980 

Passenger airships l 

England ^ 

War airships * 

WarSi 12 1 » 2 _f^ 

Grand totals.... 34 7,250,620 

In construction January 1, 191*— 
France-7 non-rigid, 2 semi-rigid, 1 rigid; gas capacity, 

6,0 EngUnd-B frigid, 2 rigid; capacity, 2,753,400 cubic 

^Russia^ non-rigid, 2 rigid; capacity, 1,235,000 cubic 

Total building for Allies, 10,024,700 cubic feet. 

AEROPLANES OF THE RIVAL POWERS 
(INCLUDES MONOPLANES, RIPLANES, HYDROPLANES) 

Triple Alliance 
Germany 



feet. 



Army and navy 200 

Private aeroplanes (estimated) 



134 Armed Strength of Warring Nations 

Austria 

Army 40 

Navy 6 

Private (estimated) 35 

Triple Entente 
France 

Army and navy 450 

Private (estimated) 1,000 

England 

Army 148 

Navy , 60 

Private 154 

Russia 

Army and navy 250 

Private (estimated) 150 

The number of men in the armies (at war strength) of 
the great powers, in proportion to their populations, was as 
follows : 

Germany, 1 man in 12.48 of population; Austria, 1 in 
25.67; Italy, 1 in 29.36; United Kingdom, 1 in 62.15; France, 
1 in 9.09; Russia, 1 in 31.10. 

FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF WARRING POWERS 

It will be seen from the following table that the resources 
of the Allies substantially exceed those of Germany and 
Austria, although the national debts of the former far exceed 
the aggregate of the indebtedness of the latter group. 






Armed Strength of Warring Nations 135 

The revenues, however, of the United Kingdom, France 
and Russia are very much larger than those of Germany and 
Austria. Figures show, moreover, that the wealth of the 
United States is greater than that of Germany and Austria 
and exceeds the total resources of the Franco-Russian 
alliance. It is greater too than that of the United Kingdom 
and Russia combined. 

Revenue. Expenditures. Debt. Total Wealth. 

Germany . .. $879,656,000 $879,656,000 $1,177,418,000 $60,500,000,000 

Austria 636 909,000 636,852,000 1,433,511,000 25,000,000,000 

ftaly '" 512 800,000 505,841,000 2,706,609,000 20,000,000,000 

Un Kinp ; m 918,805,000 917,929,000 3,485,818,000 80,000,000,000 

France 914604,000 914,550,000 6,283,675,000 65,000,000,000 

Russia ""'1674 038,0001,674,038,000 4,553,488,000 40,000,000,000 

ILS ..'.'.".'. 992V,000 965,274,000 1,028,344,000130,000,000,000 

The above tabulation does not include the resources of the 
colonies of the respective nations or of their dependencies. 

The expenses of a general war have been thus tabulated 
by Prof. Charles Richet of the University of Paris: 

NUMBER OF MEN ENGAGED 

Men 

Austria 2,600,000 

t , A 1,500,000 

^ lEnd .... 3,400,000 

^ ranCC ... 3,600,000 

^ many :::;:::..... 2,800,000 

tr 17 '". ... 300,000 

S ournama :::... 7,000,000 

Russia 

Total 21,200,000 



136 Armed Strength of Warring Nations 

DAILY COST OF A GREAT EUROPEAN WAR 

Feed of men .$12,600,000 

Feed of horses 1,000,000 

Pay (European rates) 4,250,000 

Pay of workmen in arsenals and ports 1,000,000 

Transportation 2,100,000 

Transportation of provisions 4,200,000 

Munitions — Infantry 10 cartridges a day 4,200,000 

Artillery— 10 shots per day 1,200,000 

Marine — 2 shots per day 400,000 

Equipment 4,200,000 

Ambulances — 500,000 wounded or ill ($1 per 

day) 500,000 

Armature 500,000 

Reduction of imports 5,000,000 

Help to the poor (20 cents per day to one in ten) 6,800,000 

Destruction of towns, etc. . 2,000,000 

Total per day $49,950,000 



CHAPTER XIV 
BATTLES IN THE AIR 

Lord Tennyson's Remarkable Prophecy Realized — Aerial 
Crafts Revolutionizing Warfare — Germany's Zeppelins 
Veritable Aerial Battleships — How Aerial Forces Were 
Distributed Along Frontiers — The Aeroplane by Day 
and the Dirigible by Night — England's Attempt to Bar 
Foreign Air Craft — All Nations Steadily Increasing 
Their Air Strength — Biplanes More Adaptable for 
Dropping Bombs — Damage by Bombs an Open Ques- 
tion — Zeppelin a Convertible Cruiser. 

ONE of the most remarkable prophecies in literature is 
that of Lord Tennyson, made almost a century ago in 
his "Locksley Hall." 

The famous English poet realized in prevision the pos- 
sibility of the conquest of the air. Tennyson foresaw aerial 
warfare when he wrote: 

"For I dipped into the future, far as human eye could see; 
Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that 
would be; 

Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a 

ghastly dew 
From the nations* airy navies grappling in the central 

blue." 

137 



138 Battles in the Air 

This nineteenth century dream of the great poet was 
realized in the struggle which involved practically all of 
Europe, when the tremendous flying forces of the two great- 
est rivals for aerial supremacy clashed, and the value of air- 
craft as a military asset had its first real test. 

BEGINNING OF DAY OF AIR NAVIES 

But this is only the inception of the struggle in the sky 
which may yet attain such development as to force the war- 
ring nations to lay down their arms and usher in an era of 
universal peace. When the full fury of the mammoth death 
engines upon which the nations of Europe have spent the 
staggering sum of $117,000,000 since 1908 have been un- 
leashed the ensuing horrors may end war forever. 

The perfection of aerial warfare will change into a 
mockery the old methods of armies that creep and navies 
that crawl over land and seas. Admiral Sir Percy Scott, 
the inventor of the most destructive of British artillery, 
confessed at the beginning of the European War that he 
had exhausted his engineering skill in devising resistance 
for dreadnoughts that were now rendered obsolete by the 
forces in the air and under the sea, the airship and the 
submarine. 

HOW THE AERIAL FLEETS COMPARE 

Here is an accurate and exhaustive statement of the 
great aerial armaments mobilized by the warring nations at 
the beginning of the gigantic conflict. The figures are taken 
from government reports, and added thereto are the latest 
statistics from authoritative technical sources: 



Battles in the Air 139 

Germany has already spent $28,000,000 on her aircraft. 
France follows closely with $22,000,000, and Russia with 
$12,000,000. Italy has spent $8,000,000, Austria $5,000,- 
000, and England $3,500,000. So great has been the clamor 
for aerial defense in the last six years that in Germany 
public subscriptions for aircraft have added $3,000,000 to 
this stupendous sum. The same situation obtained in 
France, where, in addition to the appropriations by the 
government, the French public enthusiastically contributed 
$2,500,000. 

STAGGERING APPROPRIATIONS FOR AERIAL DEFENSE 

In the last twelve months the appropriations of Euro- 
pean nations for this purpose reached the amazing sum of 
$24,250,000, with France in the lead. France appropriated 
$7,400,000; Germany, $5,000,000; Russia, $5,000,000; Eng- 
land, $3,000,000; Italy, $2,100,000 and Japan, $1,000,000. 
With war in the air now an accomplished fact, it is probable 
that the appropriation of $37,000,000 made by the German 
Reichstag to cover a period of five years may be drawn into 
the great vortex. 

ZEPPELIN A VERITABLE BATTLESHIP 

Each of the eighteen Zeppelins comprising the German 
air fleet, the most powerful in the world, is a veritable aerial 
battleship, armed as it is with quick-firing and machine guns 
and launching tubes for discharging aerial torpedoes. Three 
of this vast fleet are passenger dirigibles which have been 
converted into air cruisers. 



140 Battles in the Air 

Ten Parseval non-rigid dirigibles, armed with machine 
guns at the bows and a launching tube in the floors of the 
cars make up a part of the German air squadron, and added 
to these are two of the largest rigid cruisers of the Schuette- 
Lanz type, which mount guns, as do the Zeppelins, on top of 
the hull. They also possess the additional advantage of 
having machine guns displayed in sponsons projecting from 
the sides of the hull and reached by stairways. The great 
German air-fleet is completed by the addition of six smaller 
non-rigid ships of the "M" type. 

HOW FRANCE LINED UP 

Against this imposing array France marshaled sixteen 
serviceable dirigibles much smaller and slower than the Ger- 
man airships. Their energies were of less power, and it 
was the opinion of French experts that the air squadron of 
that country would be no match for the big German Zep- 
pelins. France depended, however, on her splendid array 
of aeroplanes to offset the deadly work that might have been 
wrecked by the German dirigibles on her supply depots 
and camps. 

At the beginning of the war France had 800 aeroplanes 
and 1,200 airmen, interference by which Germany opposed 
by hurling 700 aeroplanes fully as good as those of France 
against superior numbers. These machines, which were to 
protect the mammoth German dirigibles, were fully manned, 
in most instances by two men. Some French and German 
aeroplanes carried light machine guns, and were equipped 
for dropping bombs of weights up to seven pounds. It is 



Battles in the Air 141 

said that four of these 22-pound bombs have completely 
wrecked railway stations and supply depots. 

RUSSIA AND ENGLAND PLAYED SMALL PARTS 

Russia and England did not play any great part in the 
conflict with their dirigibles. Eight of Russia's air craft 
were built by French factories, and are of relatively small 
power. No attention need be given to England's dirigibles, 
for until the beginning of the war she concentrated her efforts 
on sea planes, armed with a shell-firing gun, with which she 
trusted to destroy the dreaded Zeppelins. Russia's aero- 
planes numbered 500, but she had less than a hundred trained 
pilots to operate them. England's Royal Flying Corps 
mustered 350 aeroplanes and as many pilots. Austria was 
practically last on the list with six dirigibles of inferior 
power and 150 aeroplanes, and an inadequate number of 
pilots. 

GERMAN AIRSHIPS ALONG FRENCH BORDER 

The opening of the war was marked by the studied ef- 
fectiveness with which both Germany and France disposed 
their aerial forces along the frontiers. Eight Zeppelins and 
six Parsevals were stationed in the latest type of revolving 
airship sheds at Friedrichshafen, Strassburg, Metz and 
Cologne, on the French border. Operated by electricity, 
these sheds permitted a rigid airship to enter or leave always 
with the wind, thus avoiding the former risks of breaking 
the vessel if a sudden wind blows athwart the entrance. It 
was found that a capacity for eight more Zeppelins could be 



142 Battles in the Air 

obtained in the same sheds by a system of relays while others 
were away on a mission. 

At the beginning of the war, Germany had other units 
of her aerial fleet in other stations at Frankfort, Gotha, 
Thorn, Hamburg, Cuxhaven, on the North Sea; Berlin, and 
others at Koenigsburg, Posen, Breslau near the Russian 
frontier, and at the Island of Heligoland, in the North Sea. 
She had converted into cruisers three passenger Zeppelins, 
the Hansa, Victoria Luise and Sachsen. 

FRANCE PLACES "FIFTH ARM" ON BORDER 

"The fifth arm," as France designates her aeroplanes, 
was depended upon by that power to repel aerial invasion. 
She assembled practically her entire aeroplane "fleet" at 
her great flying camps — Rheims, Verdun, Toul, Epinal and 
Belf ort, the great fortresses which stretch along the German 
frontier, immediately upon the beginning of hostilities. The 
aeroplane, however, has the disadvantage of being a bird, 
of the day, while the dirigibles may be operated equally as 
well at night, and this great advantage enabled Germany 
many times to escape the sharp eyes of the French airmen. 
The aid of small searchlights was resorted to in the operation 
of aeroplanes, but they do not illuminate very much of the 
darkness, and the plan was abandoned. 

ENGLAND BARS FOREIGN AIRCRAFT 

Great Britain at the outset of the war emphasized her 
vulnerability by the issuance of an order prohibiting foreign 
aircraft from flying over seventy-six restricted districts, 



Battles in the Air 143 

representing military or naval garrison, fortified islands, 
piers, wireless stations, dockyards, lighthouses, railway sta- 
tions, supply depots and towers. The opening of the conflict 
found the naval wing of her flying corps at Eastchurch, 
and the army wing at Salisbury Plain and Farnborough. 
But England's sea-planes, already mentioned, were her only 
possible resistance to Zeppelins flying overhead at night. 
These planes, which carried two men and wireless, had a 
flying time of six hours over sea, and much of their work 
was to detect the approach of Zeppelins toward the British 
coasts. 

NATIONS INCREASE AIR FORCES 

Realizing from the first that in the death grapple in the 
air many men and fighting machines would inevitably go 
down to death, each nation took steps, long before actual 
hostilities developed, to replenish its shattered air forces. 
France had a score of aircraft factories, all of them working 
overtime. Germany's dozen plants worked 24 hours a day. 
The same may be said of the two great Zeppelin works — the 
one at Friedrichshafen, the other at Berlin, employing 2,500 
skilled artisans — the output of which is six Zeppelins a 
month. At the outbreak of the war the Zeppelin fleet con- 
sisted of twenty-three ships. 

Not only were England's six factories engaged in pro- 
ducing aeroplanes, but at Farnborough the British navy was 
constructing a great rigid dirigible of the Zeppelin type, 
working in feverish haste because of the inadequacy of the 
Russian and Austrian factories to keep these factories 
supplied. 



144 Battles in the Air 

There was a marked perfection in the organization and 
work of the respective air fleets of France and Germany. 
The air dreadnought fleet of the latter, being strictly homo- 
geneous, formed one collective striking force. The airship 
fleet consisted of four squadrons of four airships each, with 
two in reserve. There was a separate basis of operation for 
the dirigibles of the army and of the navy. The Prussian 
army possessed six airship battalions each having twenty 
companies, while Bavaria had three companies, and Saxony 
and Wurtemburg two companies each. 

CREW OF AN AIRSHIP 

A military or naval officer, assisted by two lieutenants, 
was in command of each airship. Four helmsmen worked in 
relays, while two helmsmen attended to naught but the rud- 
ders for horizontal steering. Four engineers and an assist- 
ant engineer were in charge of the motors, of which, on the 
latest type of Zeppelins, there were five, each having 1,000 
horse-power. Relief was furnished by two wireless opera- 
tors. Three machines and from three to six gunners com- 
pleted the crew, these figures varying according to the size 
and armament of the ship. 

The German factories completed but a few days before 
the outbreak of the war the latest marine Zeppelins, of which 
there were three, the L.3, the L.4 and L.5, and which were 
the giants of the entire Zeppelin fleet. Scaling 30,000 cubic 
meters and covering journeys of 2,000 miles around Ger- 
many in thirty-four hours, achieving a speed of a mile a min- 
ute, these great ships remained continuously in the air for 
forty-eight hours with their full war complement and guns, 



Battles in the Air 145 

which were of greater range than any ship of this type here- 
tofore constructed. These marine monsters carried the most 
powerful searchlights made, and were intended by the Ger- 
man Admiralty for attacking the British fleet at night, should 
the occasion arise. 

FRENCH ORGANIZATION EFFECTIVE 

The same degree of effectiveness was to be found in the 
French organization. The entire nation was first divided 
into aviation centers, and these were in turn subdivided into 
flotillas. Much success attended observations from the 
French aeroplanes, and the airmen returned with accurate 
estimates of the number, kind and disposition of troops and 
artillery. At the same time it became possible to double 
the power of the French artillery by having its fire directed 
by aviators who had found the target. Each artillery com- 
mand had a section of aeroplanes attached to it for this 
purpose, and which were carried along with the artillery, 
mounted on wheeled transports, together with all the im- 
pedimenta necessary to maintain the aeroplanes in the field, 
such as automobile trucks and traction engines for wheeled 
transports. It may be said here that these trucks, engines 
and transports proved to be cumbersome escorts, which were 
subjected from time to time to the deadly work of the 
Zeppelins. 

OBSERVER DISTRESSED BY WIND GUSTS 

A curious feature of this work, the truth of which was 
demonstrated by actual military work in France, is that the 



146 



Battles in the Air 




THE UNITED STATES AFFECTED BY THE WAR IN 

EUROPE 



Battles in the Air 147 

observer became seasick and nervous, a fact which has pre- 
vented the greatest accuracy in machines directed by a pilot. 
The observer's distress in time of gusts is much more marked 
than that of the pilot, who does not fear gusts, since, in pilot- 
ing, the latter holds in his hands the means for preventing 
pitching and rolling. This gives him a sense of security 
which constitutes a decided moral advantage. Experience 
has shown that the work of the observer who is not sure of 
his pilot is incomplete, and ofttimes valueless to the com- 
mander on the ground, and that much better and more de- 
pendable work has been done by single pilots. They have 
made excellent sketches while driving, thus demonstrating 
that the single seater has an advantage over the two seater. 
It is a notable fact that the single seat monoplanes belonging 
to the French army were the fastest machines in the fleet. 

EFFECT OF BOMB DROPPING 

The biplanes clearly showed their serviceability in the 
dropping of bombs, the aiming being done by an engineer 
officer with a bomb ejector. The dropping of bombs in the 
European war settled the much argued question of the effect 
of bombs on troops by demonstrating that no little havoc can 
be created among those below by the use of an occasional 
bomb dropped among them. However, this is not to say 
that damage will always be done thereby, for the experience 
of many troops, notably the Italians in Tripoli, tended to 
show that the moral and material effect on troops is very 
small. Indeed, in many cases, the bombs did not explode. 

France has not made public the results of her experi- 
ments with projectiles, and we have no way of knowing the 



148 Battles in the Air 

value thereof at the present time. Other countries as well 
have been devising projectiles for use against aeroplanes 
and airships. These projectiles release peculiar bullets which 
fly out in all directions, and which themselves release knives 
and hooks which tear and rend. Aerial torpedoes, fired from 
a gun and maintaining as flat a trajectory as any other dis- 
charged missile, are among other of the inventions of the 
French. There is, however, no reliable information about 
the result of the experiments. 

GERMANS PLACE EAITH IX BOMBS 

The Germans placed much faith in the work of the Zep- 
pelins in the matter of bomb-dropping. These giants of 
the air, which had the advantage of well regulated speed, 
which permitted the taking of sharp photographs, an efficient 
working crew and a long range wireless equipment, which 
permitted the imparting of instant information, the ability 
to slacken speed and hover at night over a supply depot, 
gave a good account of themselves in the European war. The 
bombs dropped from these Zeppelins struck circles of fifteen 
feet in diameter, even when sent from a height of one mile. 
Four to five tons of explosives was carried by each of the 
great German air dreadnoughts, and twice that quantity 
was transported by the marine Zeppelins. 

AEROPLANES COMPARATIVELY SAFE 

A small target was afforded by the aeroplanes, which 
were able to keep out of the range of the guns of the air- 
ships. Comparative safety for the pilot was provided by the 
armor plated bodies of the latest types of offensive aero- 



Battles in the Air 149 

planes; and it was noted that no damaging effect following 
the piercing of the wings by bullets. During the Balkan 
war the gasoline tanks were frequently struck, but without 
disastrous result. 

About 300 pounds of explosives was carried by the mod- 
ern French and German aeroplanes, 35 of which, carrying 
as formidable a load as a Zeppelin, demonstrated on more 
than one occasion their power of destroying a dirigible by 
rising vertically over it and dropping bombs thereon — if the 
guns on top of the Zeppelin do not get the aeroplane. 

But the Germans saw to it that the Zeppelins would not 
encounter aeroplanes. They avoided French aeroplanes by 
traveling at night to the proposed point of attack. Travel- 
ing very high and arriving at early* dawn, they wrecked 
supply camps, thus, by this new form of warfare, crippling 
the enemy and rendering him an easy prey for the army. 

The armament of the Zeppelins was capable of being 
changed from time to time, to suit the kind of attack and 
the distances to be traveled to meet the enemy, as well as the 
general condition of the weather. Ordered to attack Paris, 
a Zeppelin would, to conserve its endurance, carry one quick 
firing gun and 250 rounds of artillery ammunition, two 
machine guns and their ammunition, and several light ma- 
chine rifles for emergency. No bombs would be carried. 

PERSEVERANCE OF GERMAN GUN BUILDERS 

For more than six years German builders of guns have 
been working to make German airship weapons certain to 
hit the mark, pierce protective covers and explode maga- 
zines. The Krupps several years ago turned out a light 



150 Battles in the Air 

rapid firing gun capable of throwing sixty two-inch shells 
a minute, and which, operating from the deck of the Zep- 
pelin I, proved a success. Shortly afterward, Erhardt, of 
Dusseldorf, produced a light, quick firing gun. This, 
mounted atop the rigid hull of a Zeppelin, proved that re- 
finement of aim, attained by practice, would produce ap- 
palling results. Kites in the air were perforated at long 
range. 

One of the problems solved during the European war 
was that of getting perfect range and maintaining a fixed 
distance between the moving airship and some object on the 
ground. By means of its statoscope the airship was kept 
at a constant height above the ground, the instrument reg- 
istering the slightest change in height above sea level, after 
which the ship was steered in a circle at this fixed elevation, 
the target itself being used by the helmsman as a pivotal 
bearing in his steering. This form of target practice was 
first begun in 1910, over the artillery grounds at Jeuterburg, 
and was later carried on at the airship stations at Doberitz, 
Hanau and Metz. Perfect range was obtained, even in the 
highest winds. 

The Germans early learned that the machine gun, slay- 
ing with an absurdly small and light bullet, was an ideal 
aerial weapon. Because of its small size, many thousands 
of rounds of such ammunition can be carried on a dirigible. 
Its stream of 500 bullets a minute will, at 1,500 yards, batter 
through a brick wall as effectively as a cannon ball. 

RULES OF HAGUE GOVERNING AIRCRAFT 

According to the agreement reached at the Hague by 
the nations, there was no precedent governing the use of air- 



Battles in the Air 151 

craft in advancing the cause of a belligerent.. The repre- 
sentatives of the Powers placed the launching of projectiles 
from dirigibles in the same class as the subjection of coast 
cities to ransom at the demand of a powerful fleet. Firing 
upon aircraft is not prohibited. Great Britain endeavored 
to have the dropping of bombs prohibited, because it was a 
menace to her military isolation and, further, because her 
strongest naval vessel might meet destruction in this way. 
Germany's refusal to vote for the prohibiting of bomb 
throwing was most natural. She has made great progress 
in the use of dirigibles and has spent vast sums of money in 
her quest for supremacy of the air. Great Britain was joined 
by Russia in her effort to render unfortified places immune 
from attack by aircraft. It was finally ruled by the Hague 
that undefended towns, villages and dwellings cannot be 
bombarded from the air. 

AERIAL WARFARE TO BRING WORLD PEACE? 

According to the rules of the Hague, crews of captured 
aircraft will be taken as prisoners of war, and not treated 
as spies. It was agreed that the use of aircraft for purposes 
of war would ultimately result in the maintenance of peace. 
The suggestion was advanced that dirigibles, being able to 
pass over protecting armies, would speedily visit the capital 
of a nation itself, where those individuals most responsible 
for the war could be found, thus subjecting them to personal 
danger immediately upon the declaration of hostilities. It 
is therefore contended that this result of the development of 
aerial navigation would bring the crowned heads of Europe 
to their senses, and usher in an era of universal peace. 



152 



Battles in the Air 



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CHAPTER XV 

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE AND THE TRIPLE 

ENTENTE 

The Former a Signed and Sealed Compact, the Latter a 
"Gentlemen's Agreement" — How They Were Formed 
and Why — Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy Com- 
posed the Alliance and Russia, France and Great Britain 
Composed the Entente — Bismarck the Originator. 

WHAT is known as the Triple Alliance or Dreibund had 
its beginning in October, 1879, when Prince Bismarck 
visited Vienna and arranged with Andrassy, the Premier of 
Austro-Hungary, a treaty by which Germany bound herself 
to support Austro-Hungary against an attack by Russia, 
Austro-Hungary agreeing to help Germany in the event of 
a combined attack by Russia and France. 

This alliance was strengthened three years later by the 
adhesion of Italy. Italy had no reason to be friendly to 
Austria, but the activity of France in northern Africa in 1881 
aroused an apprehension which proved sufficient to outweigh 
her historic grievance and, rather than see the Mediter- 
ranean "turned into a French lake," Italy joined herself to 
France's avowed enemies. 

After five years the Alliance was renewed upon terms 
supposed to be more favorable to Italy and it has been re- 

153 



154 The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente 

newed again from time to time, so that it was nominally in 
effect until the outbreak of the world's greatest war. 

Upon what terms, however, has never been published by 
the contracting powers. Some light was thrown on that 
question when Italy broke away from Germany and Austria 
at the outbreak of the war, explaining that she was not 
bound to Germany and Austria in offensive warfare but only 
for mutual defense. When, therefore, Austro-Hungary 
declared war against the Serbs and Germany rushed to her 
ally's defense and made the war her own, Italy was not 
under obligation to join. Such was the Italian point of view. 

It has never proved difficult for the statesmen of Europe 
to explain either the making or the breaking of treaties. Be- 
fore the Triple Alliance there was a Dreikaiserbund between 
Germany, Austria and Russia. On paper it was justified by 
the most specious pleas and Bismarck, Gortchakov and An- 
drassy were able to defend it as a firm and lasting guaranty 
of the "peace of Europe." 

But when self-interest whistled in the Balkans or at the 
Dardanelles the "dogs of war" were presently at the throat 
of the "peace of Europe" and the pledges of great statesmen 
were torn to shreds. 

The Dreikaiserbund or Three Emperors' Alliance was 
called a "mutual understanding" between the Czar of Rus- 
sia and the Emperors of Germany and Austro-Hungary 
rather than an actual treaty. A "gentlemen's agreement" it 
might have been called, if that term had been in existence 
forty years ago. 

BISMARCK ORIGINATED TRIPLE ALLIANCE 

The first German Kaiser, Wilhelm I, grandfather of the 
incumbent, was enough of an old-fashioned gentleman to 



The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente 155 

hesitate when Bismarck suggested the Triple Alliance, lest 
the new arrangement should prove at variance with agree- 
ments already in existence. 

But when the "Iron Prince" pointed out to him the grow- 
ing cordiality of France and Russia and the dangers en- 
tailed upon Germany by the existence of a hostile power on 
each side of his Empire, Russia to the east and France to the 
west, the old man forgot the gentleman in the Emperor, 
turned his back on his brother Kaisers, and gave his assent. 

Though, as has been said, the exact terms of the Triple 
Alliance have been kept secret, its general purpose is known 
to have been one of mutual defense against military pres- 
sure from the east and the west. Italy's identity of interest 
has never been entirely clear but, for that matter, Italy's po- 
sition has long been one of isolation on the political map of 
Europe and she has been torn in divers directions by con- 
flicting interests. 

Her people, already overburdened by taxation, have al- 
ways resented the military and naval expenditures required 
to maintain a place in line with her comparatively rich and 
martial allies. Doubtless this consideration, accented by the 
cost of her recent wars in Africa, had weight with the states- 
men of Italy in postponing, if not altogether avoiding, the 
cost of a war in Europe whose outcome could not be foreseen 
but out of which she could hardly expect to get any ad- 
vantage. If she consented in the end to keep the treaty as 
Germany and Austro-Hungary interpreted it, it was as a 
choice of evils. 

Ten years ago, when the term of the Alliance was ap- 
proaching, it was observed that the relations between France 
and Italy had grown and were still growing more amicable. 



156 The Triple AlUance and the Triple Entente 

France had withdrawn the obstacles which she had inter- 
posed to Italian aspirations in the direction of Tripoli and 
Italy had signified her willingness that France should have 
a free hand in Morocco. In addition, the common Latin 
blood of the two nations and the traditional distrust and 
hatred of Austria spoke loudly with the Italians for a cessa- 
tion of an alliance which connoted hostility to France. 

But meantime two "dual alliances" had sprung up, be- 
tween France and Russia and between England and Japan 
and apprehension lest Italy should come to a closer under- 
standing with France spurred Germany to greater activity 
than ever to renew the alliance. Inducements were held out 
to Italy in the form of more favorable treatment of her 
commercial products and it is supposed, though as usual the 
negotiations were secret, that Italy was told that she would 
no longer he required to keep up her military expenditures 
on the scale of her allies. 

THE ALLIANCE RENEWED IN 1902. 

Whatever the inducements, they proved sufficient to over- 
come the scruples of Italy and the Alliance was renewed. A 
new treaty was signed at Berlin June 26, 1902, which pro- 
longed the Triple Alliance for a term of six years. Count 
von Beulow, Chancellor of the German Empire, made a pub- 
lic announcement that the Alliance was "entirely pacific," 
that it contained no obligations to maintain military or naval 
forces up to any level and that, in a word, it corresponded 
to a "natural and historic balance of power" and was in- 
tended solely to preserve the peace of the world. In this, the 
people of the contracting powers apparently acquiesced. 



The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente 157 

Kaiser Wilhelm II is the dominant power in the Triple 
Alliance largely because he dominates the Austrians of Ger- 
man blood just as he dominates Teutonic sentiment at home. 

Bismarck said of Bulgaria when that state instead of 
Servia was the stormy petrel of the Balkans that "All Bul- 
garia was not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian 
grenadier.'* In supporting Austria in her demands upon 
Servia the Kaiser risked the bones of many thousands of 
grenadiers in a question of the honor of his ally. 

THE TRIPLE ENTENTE 

Against the Triple Alliance there has grown up in Eu- 
rope a rival, not to say a defensive, alliance. It also is 
"triple." By token it includes three great powers — all that 
were left in Europe after the two kaisers had joined hands 
with Italy. England, France and Russia — these comprise 
the Triple Entente, or Triple Understanding. 

The Triple Entente was formed primarily to offset the 
military strength of the Triple Alliance, but it also had re- 
gard to Germany's growth as a commercial power, which 
was well illustrated when a great German steamship, new 
from the yards at Stettin, steamed into New York harbor in 
the summer of 1913 with a bronze eagle at her prow bearing 
this legend: "Mein Feld ist die Welt,"— My field is the 
world. 

The rationale of the Triple Entente was to isolate Ger- 
many as a military power with Russia on her eastern fron- 
tier, France on the west and the British fleet free to act in 
the North Sea and the Mediterranean. 



158 The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente 

It was inevitable, therefore, that the powers of the Triple 
Entente should act as a unit when Germany drew the sword 
to uphold her ally, Austria-Hungary. Although the great 
European war of 1914 came as a surprise to the world it 
had been prepared for through the Triple Alliance and the 
Triple Entente. 




ROUTE OF ARMY THROUGH PALESTINE 



CHAPTER XVI 
PAN-SLAVISM VS. PAN-GERMANISM 

Racial Hatred Primary Cause of the War, with Over-Arma- 
ment a Contributing Factor — Disruption of Turkish 
Empire Hastened Coming Conflict — Pan-Germanism 
Against Pan-Slavism — Definition of the Two Terms — 
Deeply Rooted Racial Hatred Apparent Everywhere — 
Servia Once a Mighty Empire Subjugated by Turkey — 
Servians Struggle for Thirty-five Years for a Seaport 
Checkmated by Austria-Hungary — Growth of Pan-Ger- 
man Movement — Deep-Seated Reason for Racial Hatred 
— The Rule of the Hohenzollerns Versus the Rule of the 
Czar. 

IT HAD been long foreseen that a great European war 
was inevitable, and that millions upon millions of dollars 
would have to be spent and tens of thousands of lives would 
have to be sacrificed before the European atmosphere would 
clear. 

The great increase of armaments during the decade pre- 
ceding the outbreak of hostilities had been made with the 
coming conflict in view. 

When the European war storm broke in its full force it 
fulfilled the prediction that it would be the greatest the world 
had ever seen. More men were involved. More territory 
was affected. Boundary lines of nations were changed. 

159 



160 Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 

Racial hatred and over-armament were at the root of the 
situation which resulted in the war in Europe. One nation 
was angered because of the loss of territory. Another was 
jealous of a neighbor's growing military power. Others had 
ambitions that up to the beginning of the war had not been 
realized. War alone could settle these differences. 

Before we can understand the significance of war, we 
must consider the question of the "nationals," or of the 
"races," as it is sometimes called. 

German was spoken by 80,000,000 people, of which 
10,000,000 were in Austria and 2,000,000 in Hungary. Ger- 
many has more than 3,000,000 Slavs, chiefly Polish. Only a 
third of Austria's 30,000,000 population is German, the re- 
mainder being Slav. Of these there are 6,000,000 Czechs or 
Bohemians, 5,000,000 Poles, 3,500,000 Ruthenians, and 
1,250,000 Slovenes. 

In Hungary the Magyar element, 10,000,000 in number, 
is equaled by the non-Magyar, made up roughly of 2,000,000 
Germans, 2,000,000 Slovaks, 500,000 Ruthenians, 3,000,000 
Serbo- Croats, all of the Slavic tongue, and about 3,000,000 
Roumanians, who do not speak Slav at all. 

The population of Montenegro, about half a million, are 
Slavs of the Servian branch. Roumanians are of mixed 
origin, but the Roumanian tongue is spoken by 12,000,000, 
of which approximately half are in Roumania. The remain- 
ing millions are found in the dual monarchy, Servia, Bul- 
garia and Russia. 

The millions of Bohemians had become almost entirely 
Germans, and never before have they been so thoroughly 
Slavic as today. 




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Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 161 

One of the ruling passions of the Bohemian people has 
always been hostility to Germany. It was not many years 
ago that the language of the Hungarian Parliament was 
Latin. Magyar was held fit only for peasant talk. At the 
outbreak of the war the Magyar and Slav were marked by 
as strong bitterness as between German and Pole. 

The sympathies of the Hungarian Roumanians were with 
the flag and the King of Roumania, rather than with their 
country or with the Emperor of the Dual Monarchy. The 
House of Hapsburg, by holding the sympathy of the Poles 
of Galicia, caused them to elect to remain subjects of Aus- 
tria, rather than suffer the fate of Poles in Prussia or Russia. 
The hope of a reunited Poland, however was as strong in 
Galicia as among other Poles. 

ANCIENT SERVIAN EMPIRE 

Servia was once an empire, and at one time very nearly 
overcame the Byzantine Empire. Under the rule of the 
mighty Dushan, she made extensive conquests, and soon com- 
prehended Macedonia, Albania, Thessaly, northern Greece 
and a part of Bulgaria. Dushan took an imperial crown, 
with the title of Emperor of the Serbs and the Greeks. This 
was the height of its glory. The empire, though brilliant, did 
not last long, for, under subsequent rulers, it fell to pieces, 
and by 1453, less than a century later, the whole Serb people, 
including those of Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro 
and Macedonia, were overwhelmed by the Ottomans. In 
1521, by permanent annexation, they passed into the hands 
of Turkey, where they suffered and struggled against op- 
pression for 400 years. 



162 Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 

Servia practically secured autonomy in 1816. In 1875 
and 1876 insurrections broke out in this province, in Bosnia, 
Bulgaria and others, and the atrocities committed by the 
Turkish soldiery in suppressing them caused a thrill of horror 
throughout the civilized world. Russia took occasion to in- 
terfere in behalf of the religious freedom of the provinces, 
and demanded guarantees of the Turkish government which 
the latter refused to grant. War accordingly ensued, during 
which the Russian armies, having invaded* the Ottoman do- 
minions both in Europe and Asia, gained several important 

victories* 

The war was closed by the treaty of Berlin, in 1878, 
negotiated under the influence and direction of the leading 
powers of Europe, a congress of whose representatives met 
in that city. By this treaty Turkey suffered a great loss of 
territory. She was obliged to consent to the formation ol 
the principalities of Bulgaria and Servia, with the partial 
independence of East Rumelia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 
government of the last to be administered by Austria- 
Hungary. _ . 
In 1859 the Turkish dependencies Moldavia and Wal- 
lachia were united and a principality formed from them, to 
which the name of Roumania was given. The independence 
of this State was acknowledged by the Sultan of Turkey in 
1861, and twenty years later it assumed the rank and dignity 

of a kingdom. 

The Serbs, though newly freed from Turkey, had been 
arbitrarily divided, and part of them given over to a yoke 
just as hateful as that of the Moslem had been. In the five 
years' bitter fight which followed, Servia gave the other 
provinces her entire sympathy and such material aid as her 



Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 163 

impoverished condition would permit. It always seemed to 
be impossible to crush this race of fighters. Not even the 
powerful army of occupation that always was maintained 
there has been strong enough to control the sentiment of the 
people. 

FIGHT FOR A SEAPORT 

Through all the years between the Berlin treaty and the 
Balkan war Servia struggled for a seaport, and at every turn 
was checkmated by Austria. Her aspirations, both politically 
and economically, were blocked systematically and persist- 
ently by the dual monarchy. With a persistence which to 
Servia was maddening, Austria- Hungary denied her direct 
access to the coast or even railway connection with the 
Adriatic. To the failure to gain this end Servia attributed 
her slow commercial development and the difficulty of real- 
izing on her resources. 

Servia, considering herself the natural center for the 
South Slav kingdom, and having obtained by force of arms a 
seaport for her plums and her pigs, fought bitterly to pre- 
vent being absorbed, as she saw Bosnia absorbed by Austria. 

The Pan-Germanism movement had its inception in Aus- 
tria at the close of the Franco-Prussian war. To this day 
there was a growing desire on the part of much of its German 
element for union with the German Empire. Between 1890 
and 1894 there were many appeals urging the union of all 
Germanic peoples. A movement already 100 years old was 
crystallized in the latter year by the founding of the All- 
deutscher Verband, which has conducted a propaganda ever 
since throughout the German world, and which has had ad- 



164 Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 

herence in the Austrian parliament. According to the league, 
the War of 1870 with France only made it plain that it was 
Germany's desire to enter into closer political and economic 
connection with Austria, The Netherlands and Switzerland, 
comprising the other German States. 

It may therefore be readily seen that there was a deep- 
seated reason for Austria's hostility to Servia in particular, 
some reason that far transcended in importance the imme- 
diate act, the assassination of the crown prince of Austria by 
a Servian fanatic, that brought the conflict into being. It is 
also clearly seen that it was not to be removed by mediations 
or conferences, which, at best, could only have postponed it. 
It was Pan-Slavism against Pan-Germanism, titanic forces 
which later faced each other over miles of serried bayonets, 
and demonstrated that this clash of arms had been written 
in the book of fate, for wherever Germans and Slavs stand 
face to face in the countries of Eastern Europe there are 
always the possibilities of war. 

CZAR AS LEADER OE THE SLAVS 

Pan-Germanism, which had existed 100 years, recognized 
in Pan-Slavism a menacing foe that had welded Russia and 
Servia into a community of sentiment. And when Russia 
joined hands with Servia it was defense not so much of Servia 
as of a menaced Pan-Slavism. She would have done as much 
for any Slav people threatened by Pan-Germanism. By the 
act of joining hands with Servia the Czar became the virtual 
leader of the Slav people. 

Pitted against him was the German Emperor, or, to be 
more exact, the King of Prussia, and Europe could only 



Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 165 

make her choice between the rule of the Hohenzollerns and 
the rule of the Czar. There was the key to all policies of 
Eastern Europe. There was only one policy, one cause, one 
quarrel. Every event, from the bullet of the assassin, on 
June 28, to the declaration of war, five weeks later, took its 
place in the drama of conflict between the German and the 
Slav. 

A few years before, over in Alexandria, in Egypt, Abbas 
EfFendi, the head of the Behaists, said that he expected a 
great world war which would overwhelm humanity. Then, 
having in this bitter school learned the lesson of the waste 
and cost and needlessness of the anachronism of war, the 
world would enter upon the long-dreamed era of universal 
peace. 

That prophecy is also the judgment of most trained ob- 
servers of international conditions. The student at Sarajevo, 
whose mad pistol slaughtered the heir to a throne, suddenly 
called all mankind to school to learn the lesson of peace and 
brotherhood, written in letters of blood and fire. 



166 



Pan-Slavism vs. Pan-Germanism 



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FRENCH TOWNS BETWEEN PARIS AND GERMANY 



CHAPTER XVII 
MODERN METHODS OF WARFARE 

Weapons Used by Modern Armies and Navies — Machine 
Guns — The Submarine — The Aeroplane — Present Day 
Ammunition — Mines on Land and Sea — Modern War's 
Death Power — Submarines of Warring Powers — The 
Chemical Mine — Classes of Mines — Explosives Used — 
Placing of Destroyers — How Japan Treated Mines 
Planted by Russia — Attack on Modern Mine Field — In- 
vention of Mines. 

THE weapons used in the wars of the late nineteenth cen- 
tury were antique compared to the weapons with which 
modern armies are equipped. The death dealing power of 
modern arms, it has been estimated by many military men, 
is 50 per cent more powerful than that of the weapons used 
in the civil war. Long range guns, the submarine, the aero- 
plane and the increased death capacity of the ammunition 
used, all go to make up an armament of marvellous destruc- 
tive force. 

Nor are these the only things which make for increased 
mortality in modern war. Floating mines and other things 
to trap the unwary on the water are a terror to the naval ves- 
sel and even the peaceful fishing smack. Death lurks under 
the rolling waters of the sea just as he sprints on the mod- 
ern battlefield. It is not the leisurely secretiveness of death. 

167 



168 Modern Methods of Warfare 

under the waters such as an undertow is to the swimmer, nor 
is it death of the old battlefields. The reaper on land and 
sea practically races to his victim so deadly are the imple- 
ments used. 

SUBMARINES OF WARRING POWERS 

Submarines have been developed to a high stage in re- 
cent years. They can lay mines and if necessary rise to the 
surface of the water and give battle. The torpedoes they 
fire cut the water like so many knives and few of them go 
wide of their marks. At the outbreak of the 1914 war Great 
Britain had sixty- four submarines. France was second with 
sixty-one and Russia had twenty-nine. Japan had about a 
dozen. On the other hand, Germany and Austria could only 
muster twenty-four submarines, the Kaiser had eighteen of 
these. 

The long range guns of comparatively recent invention 
are a terror on land and on sea. Gatling guns and other 
types of the machine artillery spit death at the rate of so 
much a second. They have mowed down many thousands 
since they were first perfected. And with all these death 
dealing implements goes the ammunition of a death dealing 
power that would have caused army and navy men the world 
over to have laughed at its possibilities not so many years 
ago. Deadly chemicals are used in mines on land and sea. 

POWER OF CHEMICAL MINES 

The chemical mine is a non-controllable affair. It is a 
large iron cylinder filled with dynamite. Projecting from 



Modern Methods of Warfare 169 

its surface are a number of plungers encased in lead tubes. 
Any one of these plungers when struck breaks a tube of sul- 
phuric acid imbedded in powdered sugar and chlorate of 
potash. The explosion that results would break the back of 
a super Dreadnought. 

A country can mine its own waters as it pleases, but on 
the high seas a mine must become ineffective within an hour. 
That practically means that only torpedoes can be used be- 
yond the three-mile limit, and they too come under the hour 
rule. 

That is a rule that, it has been charged, was not observed 
by the Japanese in their war with Russia. 

There are no regulation mines for nations. Great secrecy 
is attached to them as coast defenses. Plans for mining har- 
bors are usually intrusted to only three officers. Not even 
their clerks know the secrets of location and composition. 

There are two classes, controllable and non-controllable 
mines. The former are always manipulated from shore. 

Then there are three kinds of mines. Fixed mines mean 
those that are set off by electricity from shore. There also 
are those that have trigger indicators to warn shore stations 
that a ship is over the mine. The triggers do not explode 
the mines. When a ship hits one there is a signal on shore. 
These are called observation mines. Both fixed and observa- 
tion mines are controllable. 

Then there are those that are set off by a ship hitting the 
triggers. They are contact mines and are non-controllable. 
If the plunger of the contact mine operates a firing pin it be- 
comes a mechanical mine. If it breaks a tube of acid it is a 
chemical mine. An electrical mine can be made either con- 
trollable or non-controllable. 



170 , Modern Methods of Warfare 

Dynamite and gun cotton are the explosives ordinarily 
employed. The explosive must be little affected by moisture, 
have a high destructive factor and yet must not be so sen- 
sitive as to be discharged by the action of the waves. 

In placing mines an effort is made to arrange them so 
that a war vessel passing up a harbor must come within the 
destructive radius of one of the mines in the system. They 
should always be placed in channels and usually at the nar- 
rowest part. From a military standpoint mines are obsta- 
cles and their function is to delay, the position of the mine 
field being such that when the enemy passes over them it will 
be under the most destructive fire of the defense on shor/" 

WHEN JAPAN SHOWED CONTEMPT 

The shore guns should be able to prevent torpedo boats 
and submarines from destroying the mines. The Russian 
mines in Talien Bay did not prevent the Japanese from 
eventually using Dalny as a base from which to operate 
against Port Arthur. They were planted beyond supporting 
distance of the shore guns and the Japanese openly picked 
up the mines and went ahead. 

Buoyant mines are held below the surface by a steel 
mooring rope at such a distance that the mine will be struck 
by the hull of a vessel below its armor belt. The ordinary 
form of a buoyant mine is a sphere, the buoyancy of a hollow 
sphere being greater than that of any other volume having 
the same skin thickness. 

The electrical mine has a steel case, inside of which is 
the charge. In the center of the charge is a metallic case 
containing the fuse, a detonating charge, a special device for 



Modern Methods of Warfare 171 

firing at will and a circuit closer. Then there is an insulated 
wire cable running out of the bottom near the anchoring rope 
and connecting the fuse and the filing apparatus on shore. 

Ground mines are sometimes placed in water less than 35 
feet deep. They rest on the bottom. They can be made of 
iron or steel. The mine itself contains the charge, the fuse, 
the detonating charges and the device for firing at will, but 
the circuit closer is placed in a buoy attached to the mine. 

The mine operating room on shore contains generators, 
switchboards and a gallery for the cables extending to the 
water. 

Mines are usually placed about 100 feet apart so that the 
explosion of one may not injure an adjacent one. 

HOW MINES ARE CONQUERED 

An attack on a mine field consists of countermining, 
sweeping or creeping. Countermining is exploding charges 
that will destroy the mines or cables. Sweeping is dragging 
a long cable attached to two boats across the mine field. 
When a mine is located its cable is destroyed by a charge 
placed by a diver. Creeping consists in dragging hooks along 
the bottom to locate cables which are then severed. 

The earliest record of the use of apparatus similar to the 
submarine mine was in the siege of Antwerp in 1585. An 
Italian engineer filled several small vessels with gunpowder, 
arranged a clockwork with triggers in their magazines and 
floated the vessels downstream against a bridge which had 
been erected by the enemy. The scheme was successful and 
led to the development of mine defense. 



172 



Modern Methods of Warfare 



David Bushnell, a native of Maine, proved in 1775 that 
a charge of gunpowder could be exploded under water. Two 
years later he floated kegs of gunpowder down the Delaware 
River at Philadelphia to attack British shipping there. The 
ships had been taken into docks to avoid the ice in the river, 
so the plan failed, but the attempt became known as the 
"Battle of Kegs." 

In the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the superiority of 
the French over the Germans in the matter of ships was 
greatly neutralized by the latter in their use of electrical, me- 
chanical and dummy mines for harbor defense. The moral 
effect of the planted German mines was sufficient then to 
keep the French fleet at a respectful distance. 




ROUTE OF THE GERMAN ARMY— ON TO PARIS 



CHAPTER XVIII 
SERVIA AND HER PEOPLE 

Most Picturesque of the Countries at War — The Servian 
Empire Overthrown by the Turks in 1389 Regained in 
Part by a Revolution in 1804 — People Love Politics, 
Poetry, Music and Dancing — Description of Their BriU 
liant Costumes and Chief Characteristics. 

THE most picturesque of all the countries engaged in the 
great European War of 1914 is Servia, once an empire, 
which was overthrown by the Turks in 1389. A revolution 
led by a peasant in 1804 gained Servia her independence, 
but on lesser scale in territory. 

The population of Servia is about 2,750,000. More than 
four-fifths of this number belong to the Serbo-Croatian 
branch of the Slavonic race. Servia is a land without aris- 
tocracy or middle class. Instead it possesses an army of 
placemen and officials ; but these being recruited mainly from 
the peasantry do not disturb the prevailing social equality. 
In 1900 there was neither pauper nor workhouse in the 
country. 

The people, less thrifty and industrious than the Bulgars, 
less martial than the Montenegrins, less versatile and intel- 
lectual than the Rumans, value comfort far more highly than 
progress. A moderate amount of work enables them to live 

173 



174 Servia and Her People 

well enough, and to pass their evenings at the village wine- 
shop; although, being a sober race, they meet there rather 
to discuss politics than to drink. 

Of politics they never tire; and still greater is their devo- 
tion to music, poetry and dancing. Perhaps their most char- 
acteristic dance is the kolo, sometimes performed by as many 
as 100 men and women, in a single serpentine line. 

All classes delight in hearing or intoning the endless 
romances which celebrate the feats of their national heroes ; 
for every true Serb lives as much in the past as in the present, 
and media2vel wars still furnish themes for new legends and 
ballads. It is largely this enthusiasm for the past which 
keeps alive the desire for the reunion of the whole race, in 
another Servian empire, like that overthrown by the Turks 
in 1389. 

BRILLIANT FESTIVAL COSTUMES 

The fasts of the Orthodox Church are strictly kept; while 
the festivals, which are hardly less numerous, are celebrated 
even by the Servian Moslems. As in Bulgaria and Rou- 
mania, the Slava, or patron saint's day, is set aside for re- 
joicing. A Servian crowd at a festival presents a medley 
of brilliant and picturesque costumes, scarlet being the favor- 
ite color. Men wear a long smock of homespun linen, beneath 
red or blue waistcoats with trousers of white frieze. The 
women's dress consists of a similar smock, a zouave jacket 
of embroidered velvet and two brightly colored aprons tied 
over a white skirt, one in front and one behind. The head- 
dress is a small red cap, tambourine-shaped, and strings of 
coins are coiled in the hair, or worn as necklaces or bracelets. 



Servia and Her People 175 

In this manner a farmer's wife will often decorate herself 
with her entire dowry. During the cold months both sexes 
wrap themselves in thick woolen coats or sheepskins with 
the fleece inwards; both are also shod with corded sandals. 

The Roumanian women retain their native costumes and 
are further distinguished by the wooden cradles, slung over 
the shoulders, in which they carry their babies; the Servian 
mothers prefer a canvas bag. Women weave most of the 
garments and linen for their families besides sharing in every 
kind of manual labor. Turkish ideas prevail about their 
social position, but so highly are their services valued that 
parents are often unwilling to see their daughters marry; 
and wives are, in many cases, older than their husbands. 

BELGIANS ON MYTHS AND CHARMS AND OMENS 

At a funeral the coffin is left open to the last minute — 
a custom found everywhere in the Balkans and said to have 
been introduced by the Turks, who found that coffins were 
a convenient place for hiding arms. The same practice, how- 
ever, is common in Spain and Portugal. Few countries are 
richer in folklore and myth than Servia. The peasants 
believe in charms and omens, in vampires, ghosts, the evil 
eye, and many other things. Even at the beginning of the 
twentieth century, education had done little to dispel such 
superstitions. 

The scarcity of labor prevents the growth of any great 
manufacturing industries. There is no native artisan class; 
for, except in rare cases, the people value their independ- 
ence too highly to work in factories, or even to enter domestic 
service. A large proportion of the artisans throughout 



176 Servia and Her People 

Servia are Austro-Hungarians or gypsies. The chief maim-' 
f acturing industries are those for which the country supplies 
raw material, notably meat packing, flour-milling, brewing, 
tanning, and the weaving or spinning of hemp, flax and wool. 
There are also iron foundries, potteries and sugar, tobacco 
and celluloid factories. 

A law of 1898 authorizes the government to grant con- 
cessions on very favorable terms to foreign capitalists willing 
to promote mining and manufactures in Servia; but in 1910 
the number of large industrial establishments in the kingdom 
did not exceed sixty, nor the number of hands employed 
5,000. 

There are a few domestic industries, such as the manu- 
facture of sandals, and of the hand-woven carpets and rugs 
made at Pirot, which are popular throughout the Balkan 
Peninsula. 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE 

A Nation Great in Art and Literature ; With a War-Ridden 
History, Is Made Up of Many Different Elements 
Whose Chief Industry Is Agriculture — The Bretons, 
Basques and Flemings Still Retain Their Original Cus- 
toms and Distinctive Languages. 

THE most thrilling and stirring chapters of European 
history are found in the history of France and in her 
transition from a monarchy to a republic is to be found, 
perhaps, the reddest chapter in all history — the French Rev- 
olution — a chapter written from end to end in blood, but 
which has been an inspiration to all liberty-loving peoples. 

With first rank in art and literature, she has had more 
than her share of wars. 

Although, broadly speaking, we refer to the French 
people as Gauls, the French nation is formed of many dif- 
ferent elements. Iberian influence in the southwest, Ligurian 
on the shores of the Mediterranean, Germanic immigrations 
from east of the Rhine and Scandinavian immigrations in 
the northwest have tended to produce ethnographical diver- 
sities which ease of intercommunication and other modern 
conditions have failed to obliterate. 

177 



178 The Republic of France 

The so-called Celtic type, exemplified by individuals of 
rather less than average height, brown-haired and brachy- 
cephalic, is the fundamental element in the nation and peo- 
ples the region between the Seine and Garonne; in Southern 
France a different type, dolichocephalic, short and with 
black hair and eyes, predominates. 

The tall, fair and blue-eyed individuals who are found 
to the northeast of the Seine and in Normandy appear to 
be nearer in race to the Scandinavian and Germanic invaders ; 
a tall and darker type, with long faces and aquiline noses, 
occurs in some parts of Franche-Comte and Champagne, the 
Vosges and Perche. 

THE BRETONS, BASQUES AND FLEMINGS RETAIN ORIGINAL 

CUSTOMS 

The Bretons, who most nearly represent the Celts, and 
the Basques, who inhabit parts of the western versant of the 
Pyrenees, have preserved their distinctive languages and cus- 
toms and are ethnically the most interesting sections of the 
nation ; the Flemings of French Flanders, where Flemish is 
still spoken, are also racially distinct. 

The immigration of Belgians into the northern depart- 
ments and of Italians into those of the southeast exercise a 
constant modifying influence on the local populations. 

During the nineteenth century the population of France 
increased to a less extent than that of any other country 
(except Ireland) for which definite data exist, and during 
the last twenty years of that period it was little more than 
stationary. The population in 191 4 was about 40,000,000. 
In 1906 it was 39,252,245. In 1876 it was 36,905,788. 



The Republic of Franca 179 

About two-thirds of the French departments, comprising a 
large proportion of those situated in mountainous districts 
and in the basin of the ( Garonne, where the birth-rate is espe- 
cially feeble, show a decrease in population. Those which 
show an increase usually possess large centers of industry 
and are already thickly populated, like the Seine and Pas- 
de-Calais. In most departments the principal cause of de- 
crease of population is the attraction of great centers. 

WINE GROWING REGIONS MOST THICKLY POPULATED 

The average density of population in France is about 100 
to the square mile, the tendency being for the large towns to 
increase at the expense of the small towns as well as the 
rural communities. In 1901, 37 per cent of the population 
lived in centers containing more than 2,000 inhabitants, 
whereas in 1861 the proportion was 28 per cent. Besides the 
industrial districts, the most thickly populated regions 
include the coast of the department of Seine-Inferieure and 
Brittany, the wine-growing region of the Bordelais and the 
Riviera. 

While a goodly proportion of the French are engaged 
in agricultural pursuits the development of machinery in 
France as in other countries, whether run by steam, water 
power, or other motive forces, has played a great part in the 
promotion of industry; the increase in the amount of steam 
horse-power employed in industrial establishments is, to a 
certain degree, an index to the activity of the country as 
regards manufactures. 

With the exception of Loire, Bouches-due-Rhone and 
Rhone, the chief industrial departments of France are to be 
found in the north and northeast of the country. 



180 The Republic of France 

The department of the Seine, comprising Paris and its 
suburbs, which has the largest manufacturing population, is 
largely occupied with the manufacture of dress, millinery 
and articles of luxury, but it plays the leading part in almost 
every great branch of industry with the exception of spin- 
ning and weaving. 

The typically industrial region of France is the Depart- 
ment of Nord, the seat of the woolen industry, but also promi- 
nently concerned in other textile industries, in metal-work- 
ing and in a variety of other manufactures, fuel for which 
is supplied by its coal fields. 

A THRIFTY AGRICULTURAL TEOPLE 

Despite the great interest taken in manufacturing indus- 
tries in the French Republic, agriculture can well be called 
the leading pursuit of the nation. Approximately 17,000,- 
000 inhabitants depend on the fields for their means of live- 
lihood, although only about 6,500,000 actually work at agri- 
cultural labors. Ninety-four per cent of the area of France 
is cultivatable land and the French with their innate thrifti- 
ness have not allowed much of this to remain uncultivated. 

France's flag floats over other lands than its home in 
Continental Europe. The French have dependencies in 
Asia, Africa, America, the Indian Ocean and Oceania. For 
administrative purposes the government is divided into 
eighty-six departments. The executive power is vested in 
the President of the Republic, while the legislative power 
lies in the hands of two chambers — the Senate and the 
Chamber of Deputies. 



CHAPTER XX 
THE GERMAN EMPIRE 

Second in Area and Third in Population Among the War- 
ring Nations of Europe — The Extent and Diversity of 
Its Commerce — An Empire Made up of Prussia and 
the German Confederation — Its Form of Government — 
The Kaiser Supreme in War. 

GERMANY, or more properly, the German Empire, is 
in central Europe. The territories occupied by peoples 
of distinctively Teutonic race and language are commonly 
designated as German and in this sense may be taken to 
include, besides Germany proper, the German-speaking sec- 
tions of Austria, Switzerland and Holland. 

The German empire was formed in 1871 by virtue of 
treaties between the North German Confederation and the 
South German states and by acquisition, in the peace of 
Frankfort (May 10, 1871) of Alsace-Lorraine and embraces 
all the countries of the former German Confederation with 
the exception of Austria, Luxemburg, Limburg and Liech- 
tenstein. The sole addition to the empire proper since that 
date is the island of Heligoland, ceded by Great Britain in 
1890, but Germany has acquired extensive colonies in Africa 
and the Pacific. 

181 



182 The German 'Empire 

THE GERMAN FRONTIERS 

The empire is bounded on the southeast and south by 
Austria and Switzerland for 1,659 miles; on the southwest 
by France 242 miles; on the west by Luxemburg, Belgium 
and Holland, a total of 558 miles. The length of German 
coast on the Baltic is 927 miles and on the North Sea it is 
293 miles, the intervening land boundary on the north of 
Schleswig being only 47 miles. The eastern boundary of 
843 miles is with Russia. The total length of the frontiers 
is 4,569 miles. 

The area of the German empire is 208,830 square miles. 
The population is 64,925,993. In area, the German empire 
occupied the third place among European nations, and in 
point of population the second, coming in point of area 
immediately after Russia and Austria-Hungary and in popu- 
lation next to Russia. 

Twenty-six states and divisions make up the empire. 
These are as follows: The kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, 
Saxony and Wurttemberg; the grand duchies of Baden, 
Hesse, Mecklenburg - Schwerin, Mecklenburg - Strelitz, 
Oldenburg, and Saxe-Weimar; the duchies of Anhalt, 
Brunswick, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Saxe- 
Meiningen; the principalities of Lippe-Detmold, Reuss- 
Greiz, Reuss-Schleiz, Schaumberge-Lippe, Schwarzburg- 
Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, and Waldeck-Pyr- 
mont ; the free towns of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubeck and 
the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. 

In 1900 the German speaking population of the empire 
amounted to 51,883,131. Of the inhabitants speaking other 
languages there were : Polish, 3,086,489 ; French (mostly in 



The German Empire 183 

Lorraine), 211,679; Masurian, 142,049; Danish, 141,061; 
Lithuanian, 106,305; Cassubian, 100,213; Wendish, 93,032; 
Dutch, 80,361; Italian, 65,961; Moravian, 64,382; Czech, 
43,061; Frisian, 20,677; English, 20,217; Walloon, 11,841. 

In 1905 there were resident within the empire, 1,028,560 
subjects of foreign states as compared with 778,698 in 1900. 
Of these 17,293 were subjects of Great Britain and Ireland, 
17,184 of the United States and 20,584 of France. 

Despite the enormous development of industries and 
commerce, agriculture and cattle-rearing still represent in 
Germany a considerable portion of its economic wealth. 
Almost two-thirds of the soil is occupied by arable land, 
pastures and meadows, and of the whole area, 91 per cent 
was classed as productive. 

The largest estates are found in the Prussian provinces 
of Pomerania, Posen and Saxony, and in East and West 
Prussia, while in the Russian Rhine province, in Baden and 
Wurttemberg, small farms are the rule. The same kinds of 
cereal crops are cultivated in all parts of the empire, but 
in the south and west wheat is predominant and in the north 
and east rye, barley and oats. 

GERMAN MANUFACTURES 

In no other country of the world has the manufacturing 
industry made such strides as in Germany in recent years. 
The chief manufactures may roughly be distributed geo- 
graphically as follows: Prussia, Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria 
and Saxony are the chief seats of the iron manufacture. 
Steel is produced in Rhenish Prussia. Saxony is predomi- 
nant in the production of textiles, though Silesia and West- 
phalia manufacture linen. Cotton goods are largely pro- 



184 The German Empire 

duced in Baden, Bavaria, Alsace-Lorraine, and Wurttem- 
berg, woolens and worsteds in Saxony and the Rhine 
province, silk in Rhenish Prussia, Alsace and Baden. Glass 
and porcelain are largely produced in Bavaria; lace in 
Saxony ; tobacco in Hamburg and Bremen ; chemicals in the 
Prussian province of Saxony; watches in Saxony and 
Nuremberg; toys in Bavaria; gold and silver filigree in Berlin 
and Asehaffenburg and beer in Prussia and Bavaria. Ger- 
many has obtained a leading position in the markets of the 
world more through its iron industry than its other manu- 
factures. 

The constitution of the German empire is, in all essen- 
tials, that of the North German Confederation, which came 
into force in 1807. Under this the presidency of the con- 
federation was vested in the king of Prussia and his heirs. 
In 1871 the king of Prussia was proclaimed German 
emperor. His authority as territorial sovereign extends over 
Prussia, not over Germany. The emperor exercises the 
imperial power in the name of the confederated states. Iii 
his office he is assisted by the Bundesrat which represents 
the governments of the individual states of Germany. The 
legislative functions are vested in the emperor, the Bundesrat 
and the Reichstag, or imperial Diet. The members of the 
latter are elected by universal suffrage. The executive power 
is in the emperor's hands. He represents the empire inter- 
nationally, and can declare war if defensive, and make peace 
as well as enter into treaties with other nations; he also 
appoints and receives ambassadors. The separate states have 
the privilege of sending ambassadors to other courts, but all 
consuls abroad are officials of the empire and are named by 
the emperor. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE GREAT RUSSIAN EMPIRE 

It Comprises One-Sixth of the Land Surface of the Globe 
and the Greatest Diversity of Races — Its Government 
and Characteristics of Its People — Land of Contrasting 
Riches and Poverty — Nobility Spends Money Freely On 
Entertainments. 

THE Russian Empire stretches over a vast territory in 
eastern Europe and northern Asia, with an area exceed- 
ing 8,660,000 square miles, or one-sixth of the land surface of 
the globe. It is, however, but thinly populated, including 
only one-twelfth of the inhabitants of the earth. Its popula- 
tion is 166,250,000. In this population is the greatest divers- 
ity of nationalities belonging to any old world nation, due 
to the amalgamation or absorption by the Slav race of a 
variety of Ural-Altaicstocks, of Turko-Tartars, Turko-Mon- 
gols and various Caucasian races. 

In Russia there are Aryans, Semies, Ural- Altaians and 
Caucasians as well as Koryaks, Chukchis, Chinese, Japanese 
and Koreans. 

Under the Aryans come the Slavs, the Lithuanians, Latin 
and Teutonic races, and Iranians. 

Under the Ural- Altaians, the Turko-Tartars, Finns and 
Mongols. 

Under the Caucasians the Georgian races and Caucasians. 

185 



180 The Great Russian Empire 

The Slavs can be divided into the Great Russians, Little 
Russians, White Russians, Poles and other Slavs. Roman- 
ians, Germans, Greeks and Swedes make up the Latin and 
Teutonic races and the Armenians, Persians, Tajiks, Taly- 
shes, Tates, Kurds, Ossetes and Gypsies the Iranians. 

The Finns are the Esthonians, Finns, Lapps, Mordvin- 
ians, Karelians, Cheremisses, Syryenians, Permiaks and 
Yotyaks. 

Under the Turko-Tartars come the Tartars, Chuvashes, 
Rashkirs, Turks, Turkomans, Kirghiz, Sarts, Uzbegs, Yakuts 
and Kara-kalpaks. The Kalmucks and Ruriats are the 
Mongols. 

Russia's govern mf.nt 

Russia was described in the Almanach de Gotha for 1910 
as "a constitutional monarchy under an autocratic tsar." At 
the head of the government is the emperor, whose power is 
limited only by the provisions of the fundamental laws of 
the empire. - The Council of the Empire consists of 196 
members of whom 98 are nominated by the emperor and 98 
are elected.^ As a legislative body the powers of the council 
are coordinate witli those of the Duma; in practice, however, 
it has seldom initiated legislation. The Duma, which forms 
the Lower House of the Russian Parliament, consists of 442 
members elected by an exceedingly complicated process. 

The chief occupation o\' seven-eighths of the population 
of European Russia is agriculture, but its character varies 
considerably according to the soil, climate and the geographi- 
cal position of the different regions. Despite this agriculture 
stands at a low level in Russia. The landowners are often 
poor and suffer from want of capital and lack of enterprise. 



The Great Russian Empire 187 

The peasantry are impoverished and in many parts live 
on the verge of starvation for the greater part of the year. 

Mining and its related industries are still at a very low 
stage of development also. With regard to Russian industry 
generally, the extravagant prices which have to be paid for 
iron goods, owing to the prohibitive tariffs, combined with 
the obstacles put in the way of education, hamper the de- 
velopment of all industries. 

The wealth of Russia, consisting mainly of raw produce, 
the trade of the country turns chiefly on the purchase of this 
for export, and on the sale of manufactured and imported 
goods in exchange. 

RUSSIAN CHARACTERISTICS 

The lower classes in Russia can well be termed a down- 
trodden people. In many respects they are little better than 
serfs. This condition of life has been a subject for many 
authors. But despite this condition the Russians get much 
enjoyment out of their festival days. They are good dancers 
and enjoy many simple pleasures. Russia has given to the 
world many great thinkers and musicians. 

Because of the autocratic form of the government upris- 
ings against governmental authority, especially in the shape 
of attempts to take the life of high officials, have been fre- 
quent. These have been put down with an iron hand. Siberia, 
the land of lost hopes is the lot of political offenders. Those 
who have escaped the terrors of that bleak country tell thrill- 
ing stories of their experiences. 

The prodigality of many Russian nobles is a common 
topic of gossip in European courts. Members of the Imperial 



188 



The Great Russian Empire 



family, with their huge incomes, go to great lengths in the 
line of entertainment to spend the wealth which is often 
wrested from a hard working people. 

Russian peasants delight in singing the old songs of the 
land and in telling and re-telling the folk-lore tales that have 
been handed down from generation to generation. While 
they have no great future to look forward to, most of them 
are well contented with their lot. 

Advanced thinkers in Russia have done much for the 
peasants. Universities are becoming more and more popular 
and the children of the poor are taking advantage of them. 




CHAPTER XXII 

ALSACE-LORRAINE, THE FAIR PRIZES 
OF WAR 

Division of Charlemagne's Vast Empire Among His Grand- 
sons — Lothair, the Weakest, Gets as His Heritage Al- 
sace-Lorraine Among Other Lands — Provinces a Bone 
of Contention Between France and Germany — France 
Gets Alsace and All Lorraine But the City of Strassburg 
by Treaty of Westphalia — Louis XIV Takes Strassburg 
for France — Provinces a Theatre of Operations in 
Franco-Prussian War — Germany Gets Them as a Price 
of Peace — German Government — The Zabern Affair — 
Characteristics of Natives. 

THE provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, in whose territory- 
there was much fighting in the early days of the war, 
cover together an area of 5,601 square miles. The maximum 
length from north to south is 145 miles ; the maximum breadth 
is 24 miles. They may be compared with the Hudson River 
Valley from New York to Albany. It is not an extensive 
territory but many of the wars in Europe since the passing 
of Charlemagne have been concerned with it. 

It was in 1843 that the three grandsons of Charlemagne, 
lighting among themselves, decided to end it by dividing their 
grandfather's possessions among them. They acted on that 
ancient principle that the lands, and the peoples dwelling 

189 



190 Alsace-Lorraine, the Fair Prizes of War 

upon them, tilling the soil in time of peace and fighting the 
battles in time of war, were the private property of the 
sovereign, ruling by the "divine right of kings." Charle- 
magne had ruled the whole of Europe as one united govern- 
ment from his capital at Aachen — the Aix la Chapelle of to- 
day which belongs to Prussia. The private possessions of the 
Pope of Italy alone were excepted. 

Charlemagne's son, Louis le Debonnaire, was too weak to 
hold together such a heterogeneous empire of peoples of dif- 
ferent race and temperament and speaking different tongues, 
their only bond being an official religion — that of the sov- 
ereign — and a common government. He was too weak even 
to rule in his own family. Long before he was dead his 
sons were quarrelling over their inheritance. 

FIRST KING OF THE GERMANS AND FIRST KING OF THE FRANKS 

The one who was the strongest, called Louis the German, 
had the first choice in the division and he became the first 
King of the Germans. The second strongest, Charles the 
Bold, had second choice, and he became the first King of 
the Franks, the people of modern France. These two broth- 
ers took land which formed a compact whole and which could 
be easily defended. The subjects of Charles all spoke one 
language, those of Louis all spoke another. 

The third brother, Lothair, the weakest, had to take what 
was left of his father's empire, and that included what is now 
comprised in Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, 
Alsace, Lorraine, and a small strip of northern Italy. It was 
made up of many different nationalities. It could not be 
easily defended because the Alps broke it into two parts, and 



Alsace-Lorraine, the Fair Prizes of War 191 

the narrow strip along the Rhine from the Alps to the North 
Sea which kept the possessions of Louis from touching those 
of Charles was too great a prize not to be converted by both 
of the two stronger brothers. They soon began to fight one 
another about it, each to take it from Lothair. And the 
troubles of the buffer states began. Alsace and Lorraine 
have alone remained of Lothair's kingdom to be fought over, 
by the two great nations on either side, France and Ger-J 
many. 

THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 



France was the banker for Sweden and in the Thirty 
Years' War of the seventeenth century, which Sweden fought 
against Austria and Germany, Sweden won and the spoils 
fell to the banker, France acquiring by the Treaty of West- 
phalia which closed the war in 1648, all of Alsace with the 
exception of the city of Strassburg. Germany had to give it 
up, as well as confirm France in the possession of Metz, in 
Lorraine, at this time a private appendage of the sovereign 
of Austria. 

In 1681, during a lull of peace in the tormented provinces, 
Louis XIV of France, quietly surprised Strassburg and took 
it, so that France had that province entire. It was not un- 
til after the first French Revolution that the whole of Alsace 
and Lorraine went to France. 

As soon as war was declared between France and Prussia, 
July 15, 1870, Alsace-Lorraine became the theater of opera- 
tions. The first decisive battle of the war was fought in Al- 
sace at Woerth-sur-Sauer, August 6, 1870, the French under 
Marshal MacMahon retreating before the Germans, led by 



192 Alsace-Lorraine, the Fair Prizes of War 

the Crown Prince, afterward Kaiser Frederick, father of 
Kaiser William II. 

When Thiers, coming as the Ambassador of France to 
sue for peace from Germany, Bismarck laid down as the first 
stipulation that Alsace-Lorraine should be a price of peace. 
France had to let the provinces go. 

GERMANS RULE ALSACE-LORRAINE 

, It was Bismarck's idea to treat the two provinces with 
the utmost kindness and benevolence. The Kaiserin's cousin, 
Prince von Hohenlohe, became the Governor, and although 
he was a dictator, his rule was kindly. Rights of citizenship 
were showered upon the inhabitants and they were given their 
own Parliament in 1874. The dictatorship was abolished in 
1902. Alsace-Lorraine was given representation in the Diet 
at Berlin. 

Between 1880 and 1885, 50,000 natives emigrated from 
thejtwo provinces into France and the emigration has kept 
up more or less ever since. In the foreign legions of France 
men from these German-held provinces are enrolled in large 
numbers. They visit their relatives back in the old homes and 
Germany has complained that they returned to France with 
military information which Berlin did not intend for Paris 
to have. - 

THE ZABERN AFFAIR 

It was only in January, 1914, that the "Zabern affair," 
brought a flood of light upon conditions in Alsace and Lor- 
raine. A young German officer, stationed at Zabern, Lieut. 



Alsace-Lorraine, the Fair Prizes of War 193 

Baron von Foerstner, incensed at the mocking taunts of 
the populace in Zabern, the little Alsatian town which has 
been the scene of bloody battles for ten centuries, ordered 
his men to charge upon the crowd. It was a grim story that 
the only victim was a decrepit man, caught and sabred as he 
was hobbling away on his crutches. 

The young officer was reprimanded and a lightly punish- 
ment. The Reichstag passed a vote of censure upon the 
Imperial Chancellor that such things could happen in the 
German Empire and there the affair ended. 

In Lorraine one sees the slender physique and the viva- 
cious temperament of the French, but the skull formation of 
the Teuton. In Alsace, there is the giant frame and the 
broad face of the Teuton, with the round skull of the French. 
The two peoples are in reality a mixture of both. They could 
love the Germans or the French with equal facility. They 
speak the German language in large majority — that is cited 
as the reason why they should certainly love the Germans 
more than the French. But it has now been some time since 
the teaching of French to the children was prohibited as well 
as using French uniforms on the stage or using the French 
language on the shop signs. The language of the children 
soon becomes that of the parents, and the language forced by 
law upon commerce will e'er long become the language of the 
home. 



194 Alsace-Lorraine, the Fair Prizes of War 




PROGRESS CROWDED OFF 



CHAPTER XXIII 

FREDERICK THE GREAT AND THE SEVEN 

YEARS' WAR 

Battles in Which the Ancestor of Kaiser Wilhelm II Won 
His Title — Fought Against Six Nations With Odds of 
More Than Two to One Against Him and Won — The 
Eleven Great Battles That Cost One Million Lives — 
The Great Military Genius of Prussia After Fighting 
Seven Years Died in Peace and Amidst Plenty. 

A CENTURY and a half ago, Frederick the Great, King 
of Prussia, the great ancestor of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 
was involved in a war with practically all Europe. 

Frederick the Great faced six nations with a combined 
population of about 90,000,000. They put into the field 
against him in 1757 armies numbering 425,000 men. 

Against this force, Frederick was able to muster 200,- 
000 men, the population of Prussia being at that time about 
4,500,000. 

Thus, the Great Frederick went into the fight at numer- 
ical odds of more than 2 to 1 against him. In reality the odds 
were greater because of his 200,000 men at least 50,000 
were not available for the field, being sequestered as garri- 
sons of his fortresses. 

Opposed to Wilhelm II in the war of 1914 (also called 
the War of Six Nations) were countries having an aggre- 

195 



196 Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War 

gate population of 308,000,000, not counting colonics or 
dependencies. Germany and Austria combined had a pop- 
ulation of 116,265,000 besides that of the German colonies. 
Three to one therefore very nearly approximates the odds 
in point of population faced by the Kaiser. 

THE KAISEE's ARMY COMPARED WITH FREDERICK'S 

The discrepancy in armed forces is not so great. The 
strength of the German armies was 5,200,000 men; of the 
Austrian, 2,000,000; a total of 7/200,000. Against these the 
allies were able to muster 10,902,000, distributed thus: Rus- 
sia, 5,500,000; France, 4.000,000; England*, 720,000 (which 
did not include the forces stationed in the English posses- 
sions) ; Belgium, 222.000; Servia, 300,000, and Montenegr* , 
150.000. 

Frederick the Great had no navy, so that there are no 
data for comparison on that score. The Kaiser entered the 
war with 430 fighting craft, as against 1,208 of the Allies, 
and 194,233 sailors and officers, to 276,784 of the Allies. 
Roughly speaking, the Kaiser's navy was about one to three 
as compared with those of the Allies. 

As for aeroplanes, which played a considerable part in 
the Kaiser's war, Frederick the Great never saw one and 
might have dropped dead on the spot if he ever had. As a 
master of quick movement and skillful strategy with the 
means at his hand in the eighteenth century he was the master 
captain of his age and so a military genius like Napoleon T 
regarded him. 

Austria was not an ally of Prussia in the wars of Fred- 
erick the Great. It was arrayed against him with France, 



Frederick the Great and the Seven Years War 197 

Russia, Sweden, Saxony and Poland, then a separate na- 
tional entity. England, now chief of the Allies arrayed 
against the Kaiser was his great ancestor's chief friend, hope 
and dependence. There have heen many shuffles and fresh 
deals of the diplomatic cards of Europe in the past 150 
years. 

Frederick's crushing defeat at kollin 

More than once during the Seven Years' War, Frederick 
the Great found himself completely surrounded by his foes 
and stricken almost to death. After his crushing defeat at 
the battle of Kollin, in Bohemia, June 18, 1757, when he lost 
14,000 killed, wounded and taken prisoners of an army of 
32,000 Frederick retired to Prague which he had been be- 
sieging with another corps. He was compelled to raise the 
siege and retire from Bohemia. By the time he got back to 
Saxony in July there remained under his banner only 
70,000 of the 114,000 men whom he had led into Bohemia 
three months before. Undaunted, he rushed into Thuringia 
to face the French and their German speaking allies. 

The position of the great Prussian seemed at this time 
hopeless. He was menaced on every side. Besides the 
Austrians who had just beaten him, the French, Russians 
and Swedes converged upon his army to destroy him. They 
formed a complete circle. 

But Frederick was equal to the emergency. By move- 
ments of the most astounding celerity he forced the famous 
battle of Rossbach, the most renowned of his achievements, 
at which he completely overcame an army twice as large as 
his own, broke the cordon that surrounded him and emerged 
from the period of his gloom. 



198 Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War 

Another period of despair fell upon him in August, 1759, 
after the battle at Kunersdorf, a place in Brandenburg near 
the Oder River. The army of Frederick was completely 
routed. In a contest with 78,000 Russians he lost more than 
18,000 of his 48,000 men. He himself suffered severely. 
Two horses were shot under him. His clothes were riddled 
with bullet holes and a gold case which he wore over his heart 
was crushed by a bullet. 

"Is there no cursed bullet can reach me?" he exclaimed. 
To his minister he wrote on the evening after the battle: "I 
hold all for lost. I shall not survive the ruin of my count- y . 
Farewell forever." 

That night he resigned his command to one of his gen- 
erals and directed that the army should swear allegiance to 
his nephew. 

But out of the despair and apparent ruin Frederick sur- 
vived. His enemies neglected to push their advantage and 
he again cut through the ring that surrounded him. After 
varying fortunes in which more than once all seemed lost, 
the Russians retreated across the Oder and he was once more 
upon his feet. 

Frederick the Great's reputation as a military genius 
rests chiefly upon eleven battles fought during the Seven 
Years' War. Some he won, some he lost. At times the 
odds were three to one against him, but he never shrank from 
a conflict on that account. The threatre of his operations 
was confined to a topographical square measuring not more 
than 300 miles on a side. Though there were of course no 
railroads in his day to facilitate mobilization, it is not easy 



Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War 199 

to make comparison between his achievements and those of 
the Kaiser which, after the intervention of Japan were 
world-wide. 

THE ELEVEN BATTLES OF FREDERICK THE GREAT 

Here is a brief chronicle of Frederick the Great's battles : 

At Lobositz on the Elbe in Bohemia, October 1, 1756, 
with 80,000 men he defeated the Austrians with 42,000. 

At Prague, May 6, 1757, with 64,000 Prussians, he de- 
feated 65,000 Austrians. 

At Kollin, Bohemia, June 18, 1757, 54,000 Austrians 
under Marshal Daun defeated Frederick with 32,000. Fred- 
erick had not hesitated to attack, though so far outnumbered. 

At Rossbach, near the Saale, Frederick, with 22,000 men, 
gained a complete victory over the combined Austrians, 
French and Imperialists, November 5, 1757. The Allies 
lost 8,000, Frederick only 165 killed and 376 wounded. This, 
as has been said, is esteemed the great Prussian's most won- 
derful victory. 

At Leuthen, December 2, 1757, Frederick with 34,000 
men defeated 80,000 Austrians. 

At Zorndorf in Brandenburg, August 25, 1758, 32,000 
Prussians defeated 50,000 Russians under Count Femor. 
This was the most murderous battle of the war and Fred- 
erick, to his surprise, found that the Russians at close quar- 
ters, were fierce fighters. Men wounded to the death used 
their last moments in butchering each other. It is related 
that one Russian, mortally wounded, was found on the body 
of a fallen Prussian choking his foe and gnawing him with 
his teeth. 



200 Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War 

At Hochkirch, near Dresden, October 14, 1758, Fred- 
erick was surprised by a force of 120,000 Austria us, who 
fell upon his army of 51,000 and compelled him to retreat. 
He lost Marshal Keith, one of his best officers in this en- 
gagement and on the same day received the news of the death 
of Wilhelmina, his favorite sister. 

At Kunersdorf, in Brandenburg, August 12, 1759, Fred- 
erick with 48,000 men was cut to pieces by an army oi' Aus- 
trians and Russians numbering 78,000. The Prussians 
lost 18,500 men and an immense number oi' guns. 

At Liegnitz, in Silesia, August 15, 17(H), Frederick's 
army of 80,000 men was surrounded by four armies of Rus- 
sians and Anstrians with a combined strength of 115,000. 
Frederick defeated one Austrian army and broke through 
the toils. 

At Torgau, in Saxony, November 3, 1700, with a force 
of 44,000 men, Frederick defeated an Austrian army of 
(>;>,000. 

At Burkesdorf, July 21, 1762, Frederick, aided by a 
Russian army (a new Russian emperor had reversed his 
predecessor's policy and now fought with the Prussians) de- 
feated the Austrians under Marshal Daun. 

END OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 

This closed the celebrated Seven Years' War. At the 
treaty of Hubertsburg, February 5, 1763, Maria Theresa of 
Austria bowed her head to fate. She acknowledged Fred- 
erick's seizure of Silesia, previously denounced as a theft, 
to have legalized by the war and restored to Prussia the 
county of Glatz which her troops occupied. Prussia in turn 
evacuated Saxony. 



Frederick the Great and the Seven Years 1 War 201 

Though a victor in this war and the beneficiary of a treaty 
on its own terms, Prussia had paid dearly for its triumph. 
Its army was reduced to 00,000. The well disciplined 
troops of* the first years of the war, including the famous 
Grenadiers of whom Frederick was especially proud, were all 
gone and nondescripts or even deserters filled their places. 
Discipline was relaxed, mutiny was always imminent and 
graft was rampant. 

The Seven Years' War cost a million lives, including the 
losses of the Prussians and the Allies. It brought to Prussia 
not a foot of territory, except that by the arbitrament of 
arms it vindicated her title to Silesia which she had forcibly 
taken from Austria. 

For the sake of this title Frederick began the war. The 
utmost that he gained was a reputation through all the ages 
for dare-devil bravery and recklessness. He shrank from 
no adverse odds and is quoted as having said once in reply to 
a general who was trying to dissuade him from engaging the 
enemy : 

"I would attack them though they were all standing on 
the town steeples." 

Most of his victories were won because of this spirit. 

FREDERICK A FATALIST 

Frederick the Great was a fatalist. He always expected 
to win, but it is related that he carried continually in his 
pocket an ounce of a deadly poison and swore that he would 
not survive a decisive defeat. After the rout at Kuners- 
dorf he put this poison to his lips but decided at the last 
second to have one more trial. 



202 Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War 

What are the points of resemblance between the great 
Frederick and the present Kaiser, his great-great-great- 
grandnephew? It is said that the Kaiser believed himself a 
reincarnation of his great ancestor. Physical resemblance 
there was none for Frederick was very short and slight — a 
much smaller man than the Kaiser. If one was brave 
even to recklessness it is said of the Kaiser that he was no 
less brave (though until the war of 1914 broke out he had 
never been under fire). But it is related of Frederick that 
he was scared within an inch of his life when he first faced 
the enemy on the field and leaped into the saddle of a fleeter 
horse that he might run away. 

He spent forty-six years in the saddle and devoted the 
best of his years to stimulating the military spirit in the 
Prussians. But when he died, in 1786, at the age of seventy- 
four, it was in the midst of peace and plenty. There were 
6,000,000 thalers in the treasury when he succeeded to the 
throne; his successor, Frederich Wilhelm II, found 72,000,- 
000 thalers in the strong box, and began to reign over 
6,000,000 contented and industrious Prussians who blessed 
the name of "Father Fritz," as the old king loved to be 
called. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Louis XVI a Poor Ruler— His Personal Characteristics — 
Marie Antoinette, His Queen — Conditions At the Court 
of Louis— Huge Funds Wasted by the Courtiers- 
Power of the King Over His Subjects— Protests of the 
People Against Heavy Taxation — Opening of the 
French Revolution— Taking of the Bastile— Formation 
of the National Assembly — The King Is Defied — Chaotic 
Conditions In France— Effects of the New Constitution 
On Europe— France Embroiled In War— The King's 
Death Warrant— The New Republic— Its Early Trou- 
bles—The Rise of Napoleon— His Career— The Restora- 
tion—The Second Republic— The Second Empire— The 
Third Republic. 

WHEN medieval history ended with the French Revolu- 
tion, the latter event, which may well be said to have led 
up to the present war between Germany and Austria and the 
allies, began. It was in 1789 that the French Revolution, 
which marked the beginning of European democracy, came 
to a head. It was the cry of the people that the governed be 
allowed to do some of the governing and it was a direct blow 
to the old theory of the divine right of kings. 

Louis XVI was the ruler of France at the time. He was 
at best a most commonplace type of man and many historians 

203 



204 The French Revolution 

have held that he would have been better fitted for the posi- 
tion of a baker than for that of the ruler of a nation. He 
was not a soldier, nor was he a statesman by any stretch of 
imagination. He was honest to be sure, but this did not make 
up for other deficiencies in his character. He was the pawn 
of wiser men largely for the reason that he did not under- 
stand men. 

Marie Antoinette, Louis's queen, was a great beauty. 
She was an Austrian and she made no effort to conceal her 
distaste for everything French. The court of Louis has 
often been pointed to as an example of great immorality. 
Whether or not this was so is a question. But certain it is 
that Marie Antoinette often shocked the conventions and 
that the members of the court were guilty of similar breaches 
in a more marked sense. The atmosphere of the court was 
unhealthy. Marie Antoinette was no better at reading men 
than her husband and she was frequently imposed upon and 
duped into having incompetent or dishonest government 
officials appointed. 

It was a lavish court that Louis held and money was 
wasted with a wanton hand. Naturally it was necessary to 
raise great funds for the maintenance of Louis and his 
courtiers. The only means to do this was to raise the taxes 
on the French people and to keep on raising them. As a 
result France was groaning under a heavy financial burden. 
Louis and his ministers resorted to method after method in 
order to wrest money from the people. It was an era of ex- 
travagance for the nobles; an era of abject poverty for the 
common people. 



The French Revolution 205 

KING HAD POWER OF LIFE OR DEATH 

Nor was poverty the only burden the French peasants 
had to bear. The nobles rode roughshod over them and their 
feelings and the king could mete out life or death to anyone 
without the person concerned having any redress. These 
very things marked the coming end of the feudal system in 
vogue in France. When a country is unable to get credit 
things are in a bad state indeed. This was the position 
France was in during the reign of Louis XVI. 

The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, when the 
people stormed the Bastile and released the prisoners held 
there. On January 21, 1793, Louis went to his death on the 
guillotine. The release of the prisoners in the Bastile fol- 
lowed a number of incidents that foretold the beginning of 
the end for Louis. Demands were made on Louis which he 
first refused to grant. Later the provinces showed something 
of a united front and he was compelled to bow to their wishes. 
The Three Estates finally managed to get together and in 
June, 1789, they adopted the title of National Assembly. 

They took the oath to give a new constitution to France 
although the king ordered them to dissolve and the nobles 
backed him up. The king's order was ignored and Louis 
called out his soldiers to force the dissolution of the National 
Assembly. The answer to this was the formation of the 
National Guard and the storming of the Bastile by the peo- 
ple. Louis sought to compromise and for a time it appeared 
as if he would win the people over, but it was not long before 
the obstinate side of his nature showed itself. 

France at the time was in a state of great turmoil. Vio- 
lent acts were the order of the day and the tension was great 



206 The French Revolution 

when the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" was announced. 
This Louis opposed and France was rocked to the core by the 
storm that ensued. At this juncture, when the fortunes of 
the king and queen were at a low ebb and it seemed that only 
a miracle could save them, Mirabeau appeared on the scene 
as an adviser to the king. Had his advice been followed he 
would, in all probability, have been the miracle worker. But 
Louis and Marie Antoinette had their minds poisoned against 
the leader of the assembly and when they lost him they lost 
the man who might well have saved their lives and possibly 
their fast tottering throne. 

KING AND QUEEN ATTEMPT TO FLEE 

Disregarding Mirabeau's advice that his only hope was to 
gather the arm)'- and war on the revolutionists, Louis and his 
queen attempted to flee. They were overtaken near the fron- 
tier and that practically sealed their fate. Calm heads saved 
them for the time being but the storm was only temporarily 
checked and when it did break it did so with such great force 
that it not only caused the deaths of the king and queen but 
of many nobles as well. France seemed to go blood-mad. 

In 1791 when the new French constitution was decreed 
all Europe was shaken. Kings felt that if the revolutionary 
ideas of the French leaders were to spread their thrones were 
as good as gone. Even before this Marie Antoinette had 
been in touch with the courts at Berlin and Vienna, declaring 
that unless they threatened France with their armies the 
revolution was sure to spread and carry with it the seal of 
destruction of monarchs. Austria soon heeded the warning 



The French Revolution 207 

and prepared to war on France. It did not take Prussia 
long to follow a similar policy, Louis having added his en- 
treaties to those of Marie Antoinette. 

On the face of things it looked as if the revolution would 
be crushed and that the combined armies of Austria and 
Prussia would make short work of the tricolored forces. But 
the plans of the king and queen acted as a boomerang. Their 
palace was stormed and they were put under arrest as the 
people prepared to make war on two foes. 

Conditions were chaotic in France at the time and when 
the allied foe swept all before him the life of the revolu- 
tionary party seemed nearing its end. Beaten in the field, 
the French people wreaked horrible vengeance on the nobility. 
Outlying chateaus were stormed and their inmates put to 
death, nobles were dragged from prison to be put to death. 
The thirst for blood had to be allayed some way. 

In September came the real birth of the republic. This 
seemed to carry good luck with it for soon the allies were 
seeking peace. With the allies backing down the king's fate 
was as good as sealed and Louis's death was voted on Jan- 
uary 15, 1793. He went under the knife six days later and 
France was a republic in that royalty had come to an end. 
The people had taken the life of their king. 

A COUNTER REVOLUTION STARTS 

Soon the revolution had a counter revolution with which 
to deal. Those who had taken the life of Louis and many of 
his courtiers were worried for fear that they in turn would 
have to sacrifice their lives. England and Spain, too, took a 
hand in the trouble. Agaio things looked gloomy for the 



208 The French Revolution 

republic but again they were saved. Carnot took the helm 
and he steered the ship safely over its troubled course. Fol- 
lowed then wholesale executions which well nigh amounted 
to massacres. Carnot, aided by Robespierre and Marat in 
directing things, decreed the death of hundreds. Paris was 
a human slaughter house. This was the period of the Reign 
of Terror and it was well named. 

When the situation cleared up there was more trouble in 
the government. Paris had had enough of blood for the time 
being and a period that was marked by a more sane attitude 
was the result despite the bickerings among the lawmakers. 
But this period was short lived for there was an uprising 
in many parts of France over the rights of the people. 
Napoleon took a prominent part in quashing the trouble, 
which was done without much bloodshed and from then on he 
was a marked man. The new government was finally 
launched and France began a campaign to force her ideas 
on other countries. Armies were sent against Germany and 
Napoleon led the force intrusted with the role of driving the 
Austrians out of Italy. The Corsican made a whirlwind cam- 
paign of great brilliance, crossing the Alps on his march to 
victory. His other victories are familiar ones and as his 
popularity increased the directory of the new government tot- 
tered. Soon he overthrew the directory and the first republic 
had gone the way of Louis XVI. 

napoleon's rule 

Followed then the rule of Napoleon. France was again 
under the heel of a ruler who soon made himself emperor and 
before long seemed to have all Europe under his thumb. But 



The French Revolution 209 

his power finally waned and Waterloo saw the passing of his 
star. His exile followed and later came his death on the 
lonely little island of St. Helena, far from his beloved 
France. The House of Bourbon succeeded to the throne 
with the passing of Napoleon and the republican ideas of 
France were for the time being forgotten. 

After Napoleon ousted the Directory, France was gov- 
erned by the Consulate. Bonaparte, Cambacers and Lebrun 
were put in charge of the government in 1799. In 1802 
Napoleon was made sole consul for ten years. A few months 
later he was made consul for life. In 1804 came the period 
of the Empire, with Napoleon decreed ruler of the French. 
The period of the Restoration lasted ten years, from 1814 
to 1824, during which time the Bourbons were again in power. 
The House of Orleans ruled until 1848 when the Second 
Republic was formed. Louis Napoleon was elected president 
that same year. The Second Empire witnessed its rise in 
1852, Napoleon III being elected to fill that office. He was 
deposed in 1870 and the Third Republic, which still is alive, 
came into being. 



210 



The French Revolution 



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CHAPTER XXV 
THE WARS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 

History of His Campaigns Against Austria, Italy, Prussia, 
Russia and England — Cut Up Germany and Italy and 
Distributed Them Among His Favorite Generals — His 
Defeat in the "Battle of the Nations" and Final Defeat 
at Waterloo, Belgium, Scene of the Great European 
War of 1914. 

THOUGH enrolled among the great warriors of history, 
Napoleon Bonaparte's genius was scarcely less for 
diplomacy, material development and state affairs. The 
Code Napoleon remains as a model of law to a great part of 
the civilized world. 

He was born at Ajaccio in the Island of Corsica, August 
15, 1769. His family on both sides belonged to the smaller 
nobility of Italy, and until he was twenty-seven years old he 
spelled his name in the Italian manner, Nabulione Buono- 
parte. 

As a boy he was destined for the army, and at the age 
of ten he was sent to the military school in Brienne, France. 
Here he by no means distinguished himself and his poverty, 
pride, Corsican birth and imperfect knowledge of French 
combined to make him anything but a favorite with his fellow 

211 



212 The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 

students. He excelled in mathematics and his favorite author 
was Plutarch. 

After five years at Brienne he went to the military school 
at Paris to complete his preparation for the army. One year 
later, at the age of sixteen, he received his commission as 
second lieutenant in the artillery regiment of La Fere. 

BONAPARTE AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The French Revolution was at this time rapidly develop- 
ing. Many of Bonaparte's aristocratic fellow officers threw 
in their lot with the royalists, but he chose the side of the 
people, though in a quiet and undemonstrative way. 

He became captain of artillery by seniority in February 
1, 1792, and was a witness to the insurrections of June 20th 
and August 10th. Bourrienne, his colleague and future biog- 
rapher, relates that he stood by Napoleon's side when the 
mob broke into the Tuilleries and forced the King to don 
the red cap. 

"It's all over with that poor man," Bourrienne records 
his companion observed, "but a few charges of grape-shot 
would set those wretches to fleeing." 

In the beginning of 1795, after a furlough in Corsica, he 
was again in Paris, out of employment, despondent and with 
his ability still unrecognized. His first opportunity came 
when he was named as commander of 5,000 troops raised 
by the Convention of Paris to oppose the mobs in rebellion. 

He took the command on short notice and had but a 
single night to make his preparations. Yet in the morning, 
when the National Guard, as the mob styled itself, marched 
along the quays of the Seine toward the Tuilleries they 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 213 

found every point severely guarded and in an hour of actual 
fighting complete victory was secured for the Convention. 

From this moment the young officer's fortunes began to 
improve. The Convention appointed him forthwith to the 
command of the Army of the Interior, and in March follow- 
ing he set out for Italy at the head of an army of 40,000 men. 

Meanwhile he had met and married Josephine Beau- 
harnois, the beautiful woman who was destined to play so 
important a part in his career. The wedding occurred on 
March 9, 1796, and a week later he started on the campaign. 

DEFEATS AUSTRIANS AND SARDINIANS 

His opponents were the combined forces of the Austrians 
and Sardinians and they were in force greatly superior to 
his own, both in numbers and equipment. Proceeding with 
great celerity he divided his enemies and then attacked them 
in detail. He was so quickly successful that the Sardinians 
were overtaken and beaten at Mondovi on March 22d and 
the Austrians were defeated at the Bridge of Lodi May 10th. 
Five days later Napoleon entered Milan and levied heavy 
contributions on the state, besides despoiling the museums 
of invaluable paintings and statuary, which he sent back to 
Paris. Naples, Modena, Parma and the Papal States has- 
tened to sue for peace and the whole of Northern Italy was 
in the hands of the French. 

The Italian campaign lasted until the following spring, 
Austria sending successive armies to retrieve the losses of 
the first and rallying various Italian states about her banners, 
but by April 7, 1797, Napoleon had overcome them all by 
generalship, audacity and celerity of movement, and an 



214 The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 

armistice was concluded, Austria surrendering territory and 
indemnity to France and receiving Venetia in return. 

When Napoleon returned to Paris in December, 1797, he 
had his first taste of popular applause. The enthusiasm his 
appearance aroused was overwhelming and the Directory at 
once placed him in command of an army which had been 
raised with the avowed object of invading England. 
Napoleon professed to favor that design, though he was 
fully aware that it was impracticable. He was probably 
aware that it was merely a feint to cover the invasion of 
Egypt as a preliminary step to the conquest of British India. 

NAPOLEON'S EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN 

At any rate, he collected an army of 36,000 men and 
embarked at Toulon, May 10, 1798. A month later the 
French landed at Malta and took possession of that island. 
Ten days later they resumed their voyage and, landing at 
Alexandria July 1st, they took that city and began the march 
to Cairo. Here they encountered and repulsed a large body 
of Mamelukes at the desperate Battle of the Pyramids, and, 
having received the submission of many other tribes, Na- 
poleon appeared to be in possession of all Egypt. 

Fate, however, had a terrible reverse in store for him in 
the person of the English Admiral Nelson, who had long 
been in pursuit of his fleet, overtook it as it lay moored in 
the Bay of Abukir and utterly destroyed all but four of his 
vessels, which contrived to escape. 

All means cut off of retreat to France, Napoleon made 
an expedition into Syria to meet the Turks. Various stories 
are extant of the cruelties he perpetrated during this cam- 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 215 

paign, but it is known that he returned to Cairo after sixty 
days, having failed in the great objects of his expedition, lost 
4,000 men and left a country in ruins behind him. In July, 
1799, he attacked a force of 18,000 men whom the Sultan 
had landed at Abukir, the scene of Nelson's victory, and most 
annihilated them. 

Getting bad news from Paris he embarked in a frigate 
August 22 and landed at Frejus, after having escaped the 
British cruisers in the Mediterranean. He found when he 
reached Paris that he had come none too soon. The govern- 
ment's credit was gone at home and abroad and the authority 
of its generals was greatly impaired. The distracted fac- 
tions rallied about Napoleon, a new constitution was drawn 
up and Napoleon was made first consul, with power of 
appointing all the public officers, making him virtually the 
ruler of France. 

From this time the policy of Napoleon developed more 
distinctly. Its objects were the establishment of order in 
France and the humiliation of the enemies of the nation 
abroad. Personal aggrandizement was an end, also, and the 
whole was backed up by sagacity, boldness and unquenchable 
energy. He recruited the national treasury and repealed 
the more violent laws passed during the Revolution, reopened 
the churches and suppressed the Vendean insurrection by 
decided though conciliatory measures. 

DEFEATS AUSTBIANS AT MARENGO 

Having offered terms of peace to England, Austria and 
Turkey and seen his offers rejected, he resolved to strike a 



216 The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 

blow first at Austria. Accordingly, having concentrated an 
army of 36,000 men with unparalleled rapidity on the banks 
of Lake Geneva, he crossed the Alps and almost before the 
enemy were aware, w T as in Milan. After several skirmishes 
he met the Austrians at Marengo and won one of the most 
brilliant victories of his career, June 14, 1800. 

On the 2d of August, 1802, Napoleon was proclaimed 
Consul for life by a decree of the Senate backed by a plebis- 
cite of 3,000,000 votes. He devoted himself forthwith to the 
improvement of the internal affairs of the nation ; established 
the Legion of Honor, inaugurated education in mathematics 
and physical science and assembled the first lawyers in the 
land to draw up the Code Napoleon. 

These activities were disturbed by rumblings of discon- 
tent from neighboring countries. Europe was beginning to 
look askance at the new giant and Napoleon, feeling that 
he was on the eve of an important crisis in his career and 
the career of France decided that the time had come for him 
to assume imperial honors. 

He summoned Pope Pius VII to Paris and was crowned 
Emperor May 18, 1804, in Notre Dame. Rather he crowned 
himself, for Napoleon snatched the crown from the Pon- 
tiff's hands and placed it on his own head. Then he per- 
formed a like office for Josephine. On May 26, 1805, he was 
crowned King of Italy in the cathedral at Milan, and 
appointed his stepson, Eugene Beauharnois, viceroy. He 
created a new nobility with high-sounding titles, surrounded 
himself with a brilliant court and set up all the ostentatious 
etiquette of royalty. 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 217 

DEFEATS AUSTRIANS AND RUSSIANS AT AUSTERLITZ 

England, Russia, Austria and Sweden united in a coali- 
tion against the new Emperor. Napoleon concentrated his 
forces at Mainz, marched across Bavaria at the head of 
180,000 men and compelled the Austrian general, Mack, to 
surrender Ulm. Proceeding to Vienna he entered that city 
and made preparations to meet the combined armies of 
Austria and Russia, then concentrating on the plains of 
Olmuetz. On December 2 he met them at Austerlitz and 
after a desperate struggle completely routed them. 

The Austrian Emperor instantly sued for peace, giving 
up all his Italian and Adriatic territories. The Russian 
retired behind his own frontiers. Joseph Bonaparte, the 
Emperor's brother, was made King of Naples and Louis, 
another brother, King of Holland. Italy and Germany were 
cut up into little kingdoms and dependencies and distributed 
among the French commander's favorite generals. 

The years 1810 and 1811 were the period of Napoleon's 
greatest power. He had fought and won Friedland, a vic- 
tory so decisive that Alexander of Russia was compelled to 
sue for an armistice ; had extended his sway over the Spanish 
Peninsula and had issued the celebrated Berlin Decree. The 
notion of founding an imperial dynasty had come in the train 
of his repeated successes in the field and in December, 1809, 
he divorced Josephine. She had never borne him a child and, 
besides, Napoleon seems to have arrived at the conclusion 
that the only way to put an end to the machinations against 
him of the old legitimate dynasties was by intermarriage with 
one of them. Accordingly he married, March 11, 1810, the 



218 The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 

Archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria and a year later a son 
was born to him, Napoleon Charles Francois Joseph, pro- 
claimed in his cradle King of Rome. 

His empire at this time extended from the frontiers of 
Denmark to those of Naples, with Paris, Rome and Amster- 
dam as capitals and a population of 42,000,000. In addi- 
tion he had almost unlimited control in Spain, Switzerland, 
the Italian kingdoms, and the confederation of the Rhine. 

NAPOLEON'S RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 

But now the tide began to turn. In May, 1812, Napo- 
leon declared war against Russia and, against the advice of 
his wisest counsellors, determined to invade that country. 
He organized at Dresden an army of 675,000, including 
Prussian, Austrian, German, Polish and Swiss auxiliaries. 

In June he crossed the Niemen, the Russians retiring 
before him and wasting the country as they went. On 
August 16 the Russians made a stand at Smolensk and when 
the French entered that city, August 18, it was a smoking 
ruin. The Russians gave battle at the Borodino, September 
7, and in a long and obstinate struggle the French lost 30,000 
men. When Napoleon reached Moscow he found that city 
in flames and, realizing that it was in vain to pursue the 
Russians further, reluctantly determined to retreat. 

The line of retreat lay through the country that had just 
been devastated. The winter set in extraordinarily early 
and proved to be one of great severity. The French army, 
reduced to 120,000 when they turned back at Moscow and 
further reduced by cold, famine and disease, not to mention 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 219 

the Cossacks who continually harassed their flank, did not 
number more than 25,000 fighting men by the time they had 
fought their way back to Smorgoni. The rest was scat- 
tered in the snow drifts along this calamitous march. 

At Smorgoni, December 5, Napoleon quitted the army, 
leaving Murat in command. He reached Paris two weeks 
later and issued a fresh conscription, still determined on 
prosecuting the war. But the magic of his name had been 
destroyed by his reverses. Kings, clergy and people arose 
against the devastator of the continent. Another coalition 
was formed of England, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Spain 
and in the spring of 1813 sent its forces toward the Elbe to 
meet Napoleon. 

The latter still had an army of 350,000 men in Germany 
and for some months he was uniformly victorious. He de- 
feated the allies at Luetzen and Bautzen and on June 1st 
reached Breslau where he concluded a six weeks' armistice. 
This gave the allies time to reorganize and, what was of at 
least equal consequence, to gain over Austria. 

DEFEATED IN THE "BATTLE OF THE NATIONS" 

The campaign reopened in mid- August and reached its 
climax at the Battle of Dresden, better known in history 
as the "Volkerschlacht" or "Battle of the Nations," fought 
October 16-19, 1813, in which the French were completely 
defeated and driven across the Rhine in a retreat almost as 
calamitous as that from Moscow. 

On his arrival in Paris Napoleon was able, in spite of 
the prevalent discontent, to obtain from the Senate a decree 



220 The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 

for a new levy of 300,000 men and again he took the field. 
This time the war was fought on French soil and never 
before was the genius and fertility of resource displayed by 
Napoleon greater. But in the end the number of the allies 
prevailed and March 31, 1814, the allies, under the leader- 
ship of Alexander of Russia and the Duke of Wellington, 
entered Paris after reducing its forts. 

Napoleon abdicated April 6 in favor of his son. He was 
allowed to retire to the Island of Elba with the title of 
Emperor and $1,200,000 of revenue and Louis XVIII was 
restored to the French throne. 

After ten months on the island, mostly spent in intriguing 
with the republicans of Paris and his own adherents, he 
made his escape from Elba and landed in France at Frejus, 
March 1, 1815, with an escort of 1,000 of his old guard. As 
soon as his arrival became known Marshal Ney at the head 
of a great part of his army joined him and he made a 
triumphal entry into Paris, March 20. Louis was driven 
from the throne without a shot being fired. 

As soon as they had recovered from the shock of their 
surprise the allied armies started for the French frontier. 
Napoleon went forth to meet them with an army of 130,000 
men. 

They came together on the same field in Belgium where 
the first battles of the great Europeon war of 1914 were 
fought. The English and Prussians were commanded by 
Wellington and Blucher. June 16 Napoleon encountered 
Blucher at Ligny and defeated him, while Ney was able 
to keep the English in check at Quatre-Bras. The Prussians 
made an orderly retreat, pursued by the French under 
Grouchy. 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 221 

THE 1815 BATTLE OF WATERLOO 

Wellington, in order to keep his communication open 
with the Prussians, fell back on the plain of Waterloo and 
here, June 18, 1815, he was attacked by Napoleon. There 
was a stubborn fight all day and when, in the evening, Blucher 
came up, having outmaneuvered Grouchy, the French were 
crushed and put to disorderly flight. 

Napoleon's power was gone forever. The allies marched 
without opposition to Paris and again took possession of the 
city. Once more Napoleon abdicated in favor of his son, 
and having been threatened by Fouche, who had assumed 
control of the French government and seeing no hope of 
safety in France, he made his way to Rochefort and sur- 
rendered to Capt. Maitland of the British man-of-war 
Bellerephon, claiming the hospitality and protection of the 
English nation. 

Capt. Maitland was ordered to detain Napoleon as a 
prisoner and to transfer him to the Northumberland, in 
which ship he was to be conveyed to the Island of St. Helena 
and there confined for the rest of his life. These were the 
terms of a convention signed at Paris, August 20, 1815, 
between England, Russia, Austria and Prussia. 

Napoleon's health began to fail in September, 1818. He 
developed cancer of the stomach and May 8, 1821, he was 
buried on the island. In 1840 his remains were disintered 
and taken to Paris, where they were received with splendid 
ceremonial and entombed under the dome of the Hotel des 
Invalides, their final resting place. 



ooo 



The Wars of Napoleon Bonaparte 




CHAPTER XXVI 
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 

Napoleon III Makes War on Prussia over the Selection of a 
King to the Spanish Throne — Gen. Von Moltke, in Bed, 
Tells Messenger Where to Find Plans for Mobilization 
and Goes to Sleep — Historic Battles of the Short War 
— Flight of the Emperor and the Empress Eugenie — 
The Beginning of the German Empire. 

NAPOLEON III of France, finding at the beginning of 
1870 that neither his people nor his army was entirely- 
loyal, decided that they needed a war of conquest to put them 
in good humor with themselves and with him and determined 
to enter precipitately into a war with Germany. 

This, he felt sure, was inevitable sooner or later and in 
his failing health he did not choose to leave it to his suc- 
cessor. Besides, he would give a frontier on the Rhine to 
France, at least to the borders of Belgium, and thus bring 
his reign to a glorious end. 

Napoleon found a pretext in the condition of Spain 
which at that time was in need of a king. Several princes 
had been proposed and the most acceptable one would have 
been the Duke of Montpensier. But Napoleon dreaded the 
rivalry of the house of Orleans and gave Spain to under- 

223 



224 The Franco-Prussian War 

stand that Montpensier would not be acceptable to him. 
Spain then selected Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, a rela- 
tive of the Prussian royal house. Napoleon thereupon in- 
structed the French minister at Berlin to take a haughty 
tone with the Prussian king and say that if Leopold was 
permitted to accept the Spanish crown it would be a cause 
of war between France and Prussia. 

The King of Prussia retorted that he would not be in- 
timidated and that Leopold might do as he chose. Napoleon, 
anxious for a casus belli, chose to object that the tone of this 
reply was offensive and, spurred by the Empress (Eugenie) , 
a bitter enemy of Germany, declared war. 

VON MOLTKE IN BED MOBILIZES ARMY BY MESSENGER 

This was July 19, 1870. For months before, Prussia 
had been making extraordinary preparations for a conflict 
with France. It is said that when a messenger went to the 
house of Gen. von Moltke to announce that war was at last 
declared he found the general in bed. The general took the 
news with perfect calmness. Sitting up in bed, he said to 
the messenger: 

"In the second drawer from the top of that bureau you 
will find the plans for mobilization. Large package wrapped 
in gray paper and tied with red twine. Yes ; that's it. Good 
night." 

Then the general lay down and went to sleep. 

His plans were found to be perfect in every detail. For 
weeks Alsace-Lorraine, the provinces of France adjoining 
the German frontier (and the scene of much of the activity 
of both armies in the war of 1914) had been pervaded by 




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The Franco-Prussian War 225 

Prussians in the disguise of peddlers and vagrant mechanics. 
These were all recalled when the alarm was sounded and they 
brought back to Berlin data whose value was soon to be 
proved. 

The Prussians invaded Alsace at once and marched 
steadily toward the Moselle, the French retreating as they 
came. The country was systematically requisitioned for 
supplies by the Prussian officers. Word was sent in advance 
to the maire or other official of each village how many men 
he would be expected to provide rations for and for how 
many days. Thus, for each man daily, 11-2 lb. bread, 1 lb. 
meat, 1-4 lb. coffee, 5 cigars or their equivalent in tobacco 
and a pint of wine or a quart of beer. If the villagers pro- 
tested against these demands their houses were set afire, but 
after a few examples of this severity there were no more 
protests. 

Erckmann-Chatrain, the novelists, have left a record 
gathered from the Alsatian peasants who were eye witnesses 
of the methods of the Prussians on march. 

"The first thing the Prussian commander did on entering 
the cottage assigned for his headquarters," they say, "was to 
make three or four soldiers turn out every article of furni- 
ture. Then he spread out an enormous map of the surround- 
ing country, took off his boots and lay down on his stomach. 
Then he called in all his captains or lieutenants. Each man 
pulled out a small map and the general called to them one by 
one and asked each in turn: 

" 'Have you got the road from here to Metting?' 

" 'Yes, General/ 

" 'Name all the places between here and there.' 

"Then the officer without hesitation told the names of 



226 The Franco-Prussian War 

all the villages, farms, streams, bridges and woods, the bends 
in the roads, even the cowpaths. The general followed him 
in his large map with his finger. 

" 'That's right,' he said to each. 'Take twenty men and 
go as far as St. Jean by such and such a road and reconnoitre. 
If you want any assistance send me word.' And so on, one 
by one, to all the others." 

Such was the system and order of the Prussians. Con- 
trasted with this was the confusion and lack of organization 
that prevailed in the French army from the moment that 
war was declared. The Emperor had been lightly assured 
that his army would be found in a state of perfect prepared- 
ness. 

"Not so much as a button on a gaiter will be found want- 
ing," his Minister of War assured him. 

The people fully shared this confidence and cheered the 
troops as they left Paris for what they were sure would be a 
triumphant march "to Berlin." 

FRENCH PREPARED ON PAPER ONLY 

Very soon, however, it appeared that the preparation and 
perfect organization were all on paper. The old guns 
mounted on the frontier fortresses were worthless and the 
army was in such condition that barely 200,000 men could 
be sent to defend the frontier from Luxembourg to Switzer- 
land, whereas Prussia was able by August 1 to pour half a 
million perfectly armed and drilled men across the Rhine. 

The thin red line of the French, extending from Belgium 
to the Dauphine, was in a state of frightful disorder. Sol- 
diers, recruits, horses, cannon, ammunition and wagons con- 



The Franco-Prussian War 227 

taining supplies and all manner of munitions of war were 
hurried toward the Rhine without any regard for order. 
The roads from Strasburg to Belfort were blocked and no- 
body seemed to be in authority. Quartermasters roamed 
about in search of their depots, colonels were looking for 
their regiments and generals for their brigades and divisions. 

In other parts of France, remote from the frontier, such 
as Brest and other seaports, the streets were crowded with 
half drunken recruits tipsily bawling patriotic songs. Now 
for the first time might be heard the strains of the "Mar- 
seillaise," long suppressed in France but permitted now for 
the purpose of exciting military ardor. 

By July 27 all Paris was gathered in the streets to wit- 
ness the departure for the front of the Imperial Guard, a 
select corps of 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry organized 
by Napoleon III at the outset of the Crimean War. The 
corps was very popular and the war was popular, so their 
progress to the railway station was one of triumph. At 
every halt the Parisians pressed into the ranks with gifts of 
wine, cigars and money. "Hurrah for the army !" the crowds 
shouted. "On to Berlin!" 

THE PRINCE IMPERIAL'S "BAPTISM OF FIRE" 

Skirmishing had been going on between the Prussian and 
French outposts since July 21. The campaign began in 
earnest August 2. After luncheon on that day the Emperor 
accompanied by his son, the fourteen-year-old Prince Im- 
perial, set out by rail from Metz and returned to Metz for 
dinner, having invaded German territory. They had alighted 
at Forbach and proceeded to make a reconnaissance near 



228 The Franco-Prussian War 

Saarbueck. Here the little prince saw his "baptism of fire," 
firing the first gun of the campaign. His father telegraphed 
an account of the event that night to the Empress in St, 
Cloud. 

The day after the attack on Saarbueck compact masses 
of Germans were moving across the frontier into France 
and on the day following a division of the army of Marshal 
MacMahon, next to the Emperor the leader of the French 
army, was surprised at Wissembourg, cut to pieces and 
scattered over the country. Wissembourg, a small town in 
Alsace, was set on fire. 

After that, one defeat followed another of the French 
arms. The French army was divided into seven corps, the 
German into twelve. Each German corps was numerically 
stronger than the French and better equipped and officered. 
The Germans began the war with nearly a million men, the 
French with little more than 200,000 on the frontier, though 
they had 500,000 men on their records. 

Two days following the defeat as Wissembourg the bat- 
tle of Woerth or Reichshofen was fought between a corps 
of the Prussian Crown Prince, father of Kaiser Wilhelm II, 
and the corps of MacMahon. The French artillery fought 
brilliantly but it was able only to cover the retreat of the 
corps and prevent it from becoming a rout. 

August 9, the populace of Paris, which had been fed on 
false news of victories all along the line, awakened to the 
horror of the situation which confronted it when a telegram 
was received from Napoleon at the front: "Hasten prepa- 
rations for a defense at Paris." 

Already the war was virtually over, although it had 
scarcely begun. The battles of Gravelotte, Metz and Sedan 



The Franco-Prussian War 229 

remained to be fought but each of these, though adding to 
the French reputation for bravery, was a fresh contribution 
of disaster. Sedan occurred on August 30. It was a 
veritable slaughter in the "sink of Gavonne." 

napoleon's surrender 

Two days later an aide de camp of Napoleon III carried 
a note from his chief to the King of Prussia surrendering his 
sword. "Not having been able to die in the midst of my 
troops," wrote the Emperor, "it only remains for me to place 
my sword in the hands of your majesty." 

Eighty thousand men surrendered at Sedan and were 
marched into Germany as prisoners. One hundred and 
seventy-five thousand French soldiers remained shut up in 
Metz, besides a few thousand others in Strasburg, Phals- 
bourg and Belfort. The road was open to Paris and thither 
the various German armies marched, leaving the Landwehr, 
which could not by law be ordered to serve outside of Ger- 
many, to hold Alsace. The Germans already considered that 
province a part of Germany, though it was not formally an- 
nexed until later. 

AMERICAN DENTIST SAVES EMPRESS EUGENIE 

The Emperor and Empress meanwhile had fled to Eng- 
land, she having been smuggled out of the Tuilleries and to 
Boulogne by the aid of Dr. Evans, an American dentist. 
She was taken aboard the yacht of an Englishman and found 
refuge at Chiselhurst, near London. The Emperor died 
soon afterward. The Prince Imperial joined the British 



230 The Franco-Prussian War 

army when he grew up and perished miserahly in South 
Africa by the assegais of the Zulus. The Empress was 
destined to many years of sorrow. Her home was still at 
Chiselhurst in 1914. She received the news of the invasion 
of Alsace-Lorraine by her countrymen at a temporary re- 
sort on the Riviera. 

The siege of Paris which lasted until March 1, 1871, 
when the German army entered the city but at once with- 
drew, made the last chapter of a brief and calamitous war. 
It was attended by great suffering from cold and hunger 
which the Parisians endured with fortitude and was fol- 
lowed by the turbulent scenes of the Commune, written in 
fire and blood. 

The Germans completed their triumph by assembling at 
Versailles and proclaiming the New Germany — United 
Germany — with the King of Prussia as Wilhelm I, the first 
Kaiser. The present Kaiser is his grandson. In addition 
they levied tribute on Paris of $40,000,000 and occupied two 
of the forts surrounding the city until this was paid, as it 
was in an incredibly short time. The last of the Germans re- 
tired to their own soil in September, 1872. 

The recovery of Alsace and Lorraine, lost to France in 
this war, and the overthrow of the great German Empire 
built, in the opinion of France, on the ruins of their own em- 
pire, was the dream of the French people for the forty-four 
years that ensued between the Franco-Prussian war and the 
Great European war of 1914. This was the chief inspira- 
tion of their attack on the German frontier when the war of 
1914 was declared. They entered Alsace as a man returning 
to his own land and were received by the Alsatians as long 
lost brothers. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
DECISIVE BATTLES AT SEA 

The Building of Modern Navies Began in the United States 
With the Monitor and Merrimac — China and Japan in 
Next Battle of Ironclads at the Mouth of the Yalu — 
Naval Fights in the Spanish- American War and the 
Russo-Japanese War — The Decisive Naval Battles of the 
World. 

THE history of modern naval warfare began in the civil 
war between the Northern and the Southern States. 

Before the duel of the Monitor and Merrimac in 1862 
battles at sea were fought entirely in wooden ships, great 
hulking, square-rigged "bull dogs" as they were called, car- 
rying guns which would now be regarded as a joke and firing 
great, round solid shot. 

It was with such equipment that Nelson, the British naval 
hero, won the victory of Trafalgar on the coast of Spain in 
1805, and so headed off Napoleon's ambition to invade Eng- 
land. Nelson outmaneuvered his French and Spanish oppo- 
nents, lured them out to sea and then charged them in two 
columns and battered their ships to pieces. He died within 
a few minutes after receiving word that he was a victor, leav- 
ing to history the celebrated legend : 

"England expects every man to do his duty." 

231 



232 Decisive Battles at Sea 

When the Merrimac appeared in Hampton Roads on 
the morning of March 8, 1802, the utter helplessness of the 
old-fashioned frigate in the face of the modern iron clad 
became at once fearfully apparent. 

There were several wooden men of war in the harbor, the 
best, it was considered, in the navy of the United States and 
on the approach of the Merrimac they poured volleys of shot 
upon her iron roof. The effect of this rain of iron was de- 
scribed by one of the United States Navy officers as that 
"of peas from a pea shooter." They made no impression 
whatever. 

Meanwhile the iron roofed Merrimac continued calmly 
in her work of destruction. Crossing the Roads, she moved 
up to the United States sloop-of-war Cumberland with thirty 
guns, crushed in her wooden hull as if it had been pasteboard 
and sank her. 

Then, turning to the frigate Congress, fifty guns, the 
Merrimac drove her aground, disabled her, forced her to sur- 
render and burned her. It must not be supposed that the 
Congress was idle all this time. For an hour she poured 
broadside after broadside upon the Merrimac but her solid 
shot rebounded from the iron sides like baseballs. 

Having destroyed two of the best ships in the Federal 
Navy the Merrimac withdrew from the battle and rested 
for the night. The surprise of the next day was furnished 
by the appearance of the Monitor in the Roads. She had 
had an awful journey down the Atlantic coast and presented 
an aspect as strange and novel as had the Merrimac the day 
before. 



Decisive Battles at Sea 233 

FIRST IRONCLADS DESCRIBED 

The Merrimac or Virginia, as the Confederates called 
her, was originally a wooden frigate in the United States 
Navy. She was burned to the water's edge by the Federals 
when they destroyed the Norfolk Navy Yard. The Con- 
federates raised her hulk, rusty engines and all built a wooden 
shed on her deck, but an overcoat of cast iron an inch thick 
on her, fastened at her prow a huge piece of iron with which 
to ram and fitted her with guns. Formidable as she proved 
in battle with the old line wooden frigates, she was the clum- 
siest, most ungainly craft imaginable. Under the most fa- 
vorable circumstances she was not capable of more than four 
knots an hour and her rusty engines were almost continually 
out of order. 

The Monitor was compared when she first presented her- 
self to "a cheese box on a raft." She was built new by the 
Federal government from designs by John Ericson, a 
naturalized Swede. She lay low in the water and had a long 
overhang at bow and stern like a ferryboat. The "cheese 
box" was a turret in which were mounted her guns. Like 
the Merrimac, she was designed to ram her opponent and 
her own hull and engines were mostly under water and out 
of the enemy's fire. 

These two strange craft came together in battle in the 
Hampton Roads, March 9, 1862, and what a battle it was! 
In after years every detail of it was to be studied and ana- 
lyzed for data from which the modern fleets of steel dread- 
naughts were to be evolved. 

It was armor against armor. Forward and backward, 
on straight lines and then on curves the unwieldly craft 



234 Decisive Battles at Sea 

were maneuvered, each seeking the other's weak point. Solid 
shot struck the sloping sides of the Merrimac, raking her 
from stem to stern. Solid shot made dents in the sides of the 
Monitor's turret and bounded harmless into the water. Thus 
they pounded each other for hours and then shaken and dam- 
aged, they parted with mutual respect. 

The North drew a long breath. The much derided Moni- 
tor was at least a match for the Merrimac. But the lesson 
of the day at Hampton Roads was for all the future, for 
all the world built "ironclads." The day of the old wooden 
navies was past. 

Thirty-two years elapsed before the next chapter in naval 
warfare was written. In September, 1894, the fleets of 
China and Japan came together at the mouth of the Yalu 
River and, at heavy cost to China, the next important lesson 
was given in naval warfare. 

THE BATTLE OF THE YALU 

The Japanese squadron, comprising eleven war ships and 
the packet, Saikio-Maru passed Haiyun Tao, sighted the 
mouth of the Yalu in the forenoon of September 17. There 
they found fourteen Chinese warships and six torpedo boats. 
The Chinese fleet steamed out of the mouth of the river in bat- 
tle formation and opened fire at about two and a half miles. 
The Japanese waited until the enemy had come about a mile 
closer and then brought their guns into play. The Japanese 
maintained their line of battle but the Chinese after a short 
time broke their formation. 

It was hot work at times. The Japanese fire took effect 
first. First one, then another, then another of Chinese ships 



Decisive Battles at Sea 235 

were sunk, all stern first. On board the packet Saikio-Maru 
was Admiral Kabayama, head of the Japanese naval com- 
mand bureau. His presence was purely accidental for he 
was making a tour of inspection and had not foreseen the 
meeting of the two fleets. The Admiral was frequently in 
imminent danger. The packet's steering gear was disabled 
by a Japanese shell. She was pursued by the Chinese and 
forced to pass between two of their ships within a distance 
of 100 yards. The commanders of these ships, thinking it 
was the intention of the Saikio-Maru to ram them, sheered 
off and permitted the packet to escape. The Chinese dis- 
charged two fish torpedoes after her but they were aimed too 
low and passed under her. 

Several of the Japanese ships had narrow escapes from 
destruction and a number were damaged. But, besides sink- 
ing three they set fire to three others of the Chinese fleet and 
at sundown had the others in full retreat. The Japanese fol- 
lowed them but the night was very dark and the Chinese es- 
caped to a safe shelter. 

From this engagement naval commanders learned an al- 
together new lesson in fighting, not only with steel clad ships 
but at long range. 

Four years later, Captain Mahan, the great naval strate- 
gist of the United States Navy, wrote : 

"This, then, is the forecast of the battle of tomorrow. 
Two great lines of monster ships steaming side by side, but 
far apart, whilst the uproar of the cannonade, the wail of 
shells, fills the air. As the minutes pass, funnels and super- 
structures fly in splinters, the draught sinks, the speed de- 
creases, ships drop to the rear. The moment for close action 



236 Decisive Battles at Sea 

has come and the victor steams in on the vanquished. The 
ram and the torpedo, amid an inferno of sinking ships and 
exploding shells, claim their victims. The torpedo boats of 
the weaker side in vain essay to cover the beaten battle ships. 
Beneath a pall of smoke, upon a sea of blood the mastery 
of the waters is decided for a generation. Such an encounter 
will not lack sensation. To live through it will be a life's ex- 
perience; to fail in it, a glorious end." 

The interval of ninety years between 1815 and 1904 was 
marked by no great naval war. There were blockades and 
there was fighting at sea but there were no encounters be- 
tween large and well appointed navies. In the latter year 
began the war between Russia and Japan in which the Japa- 
nese for the first time found themselves arrayed on the sea 
against a western power. They proved their superiority by 
virtually destroying the Russian fleet and took a high place 
among the naval powers of the world. 

The United States, in somewhat similar manner, sur- 
prised the world in the war with Spain in 1898, by proving 
its navy to be in a state of complete preparedness. Rear Ad- 
miral Dewey, a veteran of the civil war, destroyed the East- 
ern fleet of the Spaniards in the harbor of Manila, after 
which the Oregon, racing across the Pacific and round the 
Horn, joined the Atlantic squadron at Santiago to destroy 
about all that remained of the Spanish fleet in an engagement 
of unexampled celerity and thoroughness off Santiago, Cuba. 

Despite these and a number of other minor sea fights the 
Six Powers of Europe entered upon the war of 191-1 with 
little knowledge of the actual efficiency of their own or their 
opponents' navies. 



Decisive Battles at Sea 237 

THE NAVIES IN THE WAR OF 1914 

On paper, England was not only the traditional "ruler 
of the sea;" for many years she had undertaken to keep her 
navy on a par with the eombined navies of any two of the 
continental powers. This traditional policy, she asserted, 
was demanded by her insular position, by her far flung mer- 
chant fleets and by the world-wide extent of her colonies. 
Her food supply was almost all at sea; it could be protected 
only at sea. 

This mastery of the seas was in a measure contested by 
Germany. From the beginning of his reign, Kaiser Wil- 
helm II devoted no small part of his tremendous energies 
to the development of the German merchant marine and the 
German navy to protect it. 

France was passed in the race by Germany and fell to 
third place during this period of the Kaiser's activity, with 
Italy a bad fourth. 

Austria was considered to have a small navy but "excel- 
lent in quality." The Russians had not yet had time to re- 
build the ravages of the Japanese. The navies of the other 
powers involved in the war were negligible. 

DECISIVE SEA BATTLES OF HISTORY 

A glance over the pages of histoiy shows that about a 
dozen battles at sea have been fought which may be said to 
have been "decisive." In chronological order they follow: 

Salamis, 480 B. C. — Greeks defeated the Persians and 
saved their own country from invasion and conquest. 

Actium, 31 B. C. — Octavius became master of the world 
by defeating Anthony and Cleopatra in Home's great civil 
war. 



238 Decisive Battles at Sea 

Lepanto, 1571 — First naval battle with guns. Don Juan 
of Austria, commanding the united forces of Spain, Venice 
and the Papal States, defeated the Turks and checked the 
Moslem invasion of Christendom. 

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588 — English Admiral 
Howard, assisted by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John 
Hawkins, destroyed the Spanish fleet in the English chan- 
nel and saved England from invasion. This was the begin- 
ning of England's mastery of the seas. 

Battle of the Nile, 1789— English Admiral Nelson de- 
feated the French fleet, blockaded Napoleon's army in Egypt 
and gained control of the Mediterranean sea for England. 

Trafalgar, 1805 — Nelson again defeated the French un- 
der Admiral Villeneuve, destroyed Napoleon's sea power and 
prevented his threatened invasion of England. 

Lake Erie, 1813 — Commodore Perry defeated the Brit- 
ish squadron under Captain Barclay and saved the northwest- 
ern United States from invasion. 

Monitor and Merrimac, 1862 — First fight of ironclads. 
Monitor's victory revolutionized naval warfare and estab- 
lished control of the sea for the North. 

Mobile Bay, 1864 — Admiral Farragut, commanding the 
Union fleet, struck one of the death blows to the Confederacy. 

Yalu, 1894 — Japan destroyed the Chinese fleet and laid 
the foundation for her present power at sea. 

Manila Bay, 1898 — Admiral Dewey destroyed the Span- 
ish fleet and won the Philippine Islands for the United States. 

Santiago, 1898 — Admiral Sampson, with the loss of only 
one man, destroyed Admiral Cervera's fleet and brought the 
American- Spanish war to an end. 

Port Arthur, 1904 — Admiral Togo's first decisive victory 
over the Russian fleet trying to escape from Port Arthur. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES 

(Marathon to Orleans) 

The Battle of Marathon — The Peloponnesian War— The 
Battle of Arbela—The Battle of the Metaurus— Defeat 
of Varus, the Roman, by Arminius—The Battle of Cha- 
lons—The Battle of Tours— The Battle of Hastings- 
Joan of Arc at Orleans. 

THE BATTLE OF MARATHON 

THE great Eastern Monarchy founded by Cyrus, King 
of Persia, and extended by Cambyses, his son, was con- 
solidated by Darius, who became king of Persia in 521 B. C. 
Among the conquests of Cyrus was the kingdom of Lydia, 
in Asia Minor. Now, just before the Persian conquest of 
Lydia, the king of that country, Croesus, had succeeded in 
reducing under his own dominion the Greek cities on the 
coast of Asia Minor; so that now they, too, became subjects 
to Persia. 

The Ionian cities did not submit without a struggle, and 
after a certain time there ensued a general revolt of these 
cities, in 500 B. C. The Athenians, to help their kinsfolk in 
Ionia, sent twenty ships with a small force. A landing was 

239 



240 The World'* Decisive Matties 

made on the coast of Asia Minor, and Sardis, the capital of 
Lydia, was captured and accidentally burned, 499 B. C. 

This sally had only the effect of drawing down the wrath 
of Darius on the Ionian cities, and the revolt was soon quelled 
(4iU B. C.) . The Persian monarch then resolved to chastise 
the Athenians. When the news of the burning of Sardis was 
brought to Darius, he called for his bow, and shot an arrow 
toward the sky, with a prayer to Auramazda for help to 
revenge himself on the Athenians. Then he bade one of his 
servants repeat to him thrice daily, as he sat down to dinner, 
the words, "Master, remember the Athenians." 

In execution of his purpose. Darius instructed his son-in- 
law, Mardonius, to march an army against the Athenians. 
The force advanced through Thrace into Macedonia, which 
was speedily subjugated, but it was able to go no farther; 
and a fleet which had been sent to cooperate was shattered 
by a great storm off the peninsula of Mount Athos, so that 
Mardonius returned to Asia Minor in disgrace, 102 B. C. 

This failure only added fury to the resolution of Darius. 
While pushing forward his preparations for the invasion of 
Greece, he sent heralds to the chief Grecian cities to demand 
the tribute of earth and water as signs of his being their right- 
ful lord. The island states generally made their submission, 
as did also many of the continental states, and it seemed that 
the young civilization of the West was to be overwhelmed 
by Eastern despotism. But the genius of Hellas found noble 
champions in two of the states; for Athens and Sparta in- 
dignantly rejected the demand, and their conjunction drew 
after them most of the lesser states in a defensive league. 

It was time for Greece to be united, for in the spring of 
400 B. C. the preparations of Darius were complete. A vast 



The World's Decisive Battles 241 

force, under a commander named Datis, sailed in six hun- 
dred triremes (war vessels having three banks of oars, com- 
manded by a trierarch, and often manned by over 200 men) 
from Samos across the Aegean, reducing the Cyclades islands 
on the way, and after capturing Eretria in the island of 
Euboea, made a landing in the bay of Marathon, on the east 
coast of Attica. The Persians now prepared to advance on 
Athens. 

But this was not to be without a struggle, and the plain 
of Marathon was the scene of the conflict, one of the most 
important and momentous in history. Here the invaders 
were met by a small army of Athenian soldiers under Mil- 
tiades and completely routed (490 B. C). There between 
the mountains and the sea, the little Athenian force of 10,000 
men, unaided save by 600 men from Plataea, but led by the 
genius of Miltiades and inspired by high patriotic daring, 
met a Persian army of ten times its number and defeated it 
(September, 490 B. C). 

The Persians, then famed as the greatest soldiers in the 
world, previous to that battle had scarcely known a check in 
their conquests. Had they succeeded at Marathon, Euro- 
pean civilization would probably have assumed a new phase ; 
but, through the genius of Miltiades and the patriotic daring 
of the Athenians, the invaders were driven back, and Greece 
was saved. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAE 

The Peloponnesian War was a conflict between Athens 
and her allies on the one hand, and Sparta and her allies on 
the other. It began in 431 B. C, lasted twenty-seven years, 



242 The World's Decisive Battles 

and ended in weakening Greece generally, and in completely 
destroying the Athenian ascendency. 

This was occasioned by the jealousy which the great 
power of Athens stirred up among many other of the Greek 
cities; but it had in reality a deeper cause, namely, the out- 
break of an "irrepressible conflict" between Ionians and 
Dorians, between democracy and oligarchy — Athens being 
the chief of the Ionian and democratic states, and Sparta the 
chief of the Dorian and aristocratic states. 

The immediate occasion of the Mar was a conflict between 
Corinth and one of her colonies, Corey ra. Siding with the 
latter, Athens excited the wrath of the Dorian Confederacy, 
and a Spartan army invaded Attica, 431 B. C. During the 
first ten years of the war, down to 421, the two parties con- 
tended with nearly equal success, the Athenians being much 
the stronger by sea, and the Spartans and their allies by 
land. A peace was then concluded, called the "Peace of 
Nicias" (421 B. C), which was to last for fifty years; but 
as many of the confederates were dissatisfied with its terms, 
it was not likely to be of such long duration, and indeed hos- 
tilities were renewed almost immediately. 

The renewal of the war was precipitated through the 
political influence of Alcibiades, a handsome, dissolute young 
disciple of Socrates. He possessed brilliant talent, but he 
was ambitious, and he was eager to renew the war, as afford- 
ing him an opportunity of personal distinction. 

Alcibiades brought forward a scheme of conquering Syra- 
cuse, a city in Sicily. It was a bold undertaking, and its suc- 
cessful execution would have given a great preponderance to 
Athens over Sparta. The Athenians adopted the plan, and 
in 415 B. C. sent a fleet and force against the Syracusans. 



The World's Decisive Battles 243 

Sparta sent aid to the latter, and thus the Peloponnesian War 
was renewed. In the midst of the enterprise Alcibiades was 
recalled to Athens on a charge of impiety, but he managed 
to escape and went over to Sparta. The Syracusan expedi- 
tion proved a total failure (413 B. C.) , and greatly damaged 
the power of Athens. 

During the last eight years the Peloponnesian War was 
carried on mainly at sea, off the coast of Asia. Sparta allied 
herself with Persia, and it was Persian gold that afforded 
Sparta the means to continue the contest against Athens. 
Athens, however, made a bold front, and under the lead of 
Alcibiades (who had meanwhile been recalled to the com- 
mand) kept up the contest with wonderful vigor. But a 
fatal blow fell when the Spartan admiral, Lysander, sur- 
prised the beached galleys of the Athenians at Aegos Pota- 
mos in the Hellespont, in 405 B. C. The siege and surrender 
of Athens in the following year brought the great Pelopon- 
nesian contest to an end. 

The result of the Peloponnesian War left Sparta the 
greatest power of Greece. Athens sank into the background 
as a second-rate state. But, while she lost her political su- 
premacy, she became more and more the leader in literature, 
art and philosophy. 

BATTLE OF ARBELA 

A long struggle following the great Peloponnesian War 
involved nearly all the Hellenic states and resuLted in the 
general exhaustion of Greece. What strength remained was 
expended in mere intestine broils, and soon after this Greece 
fell an easy prey to Philip of Macedon, son of Amyntas II. 
This was in 359 B. C. 



2U The World's Decisive Battles 

Philip developed a grand scheme of conquest, and for 
twenty years following 358 B. C. he continued a mixed 
policy of war and intrigue, which at length made him master 
of Greece. In the midst of his preparations for still further 
conquest Philip was assassinated by one of his own subjects 
(336 B. C.) , at the age of forty-six, after a reign of twenty- 
three years. 

Philip was succeeded by his son Alexander, known as 
Alexander the Great. At the age of twenty he became heir 
to his father's power, and of far more than his father's mili- 
tary genius. He was immediately acknowledged generalis- 
simo of Greece against the Persians, as his father had been. 
In the year 334 B. C. he crossed the Hellespont with a small 
army of 35,000 men, and advanced to the Granicus, in Asia 
JMinor. Here a Persian army somewhat larger than his own 
was met and defeated, 334 B. C. He then passed victoriously 
through the Persian provinces of Asia Minor, and entered 
Syria. At Issus, near the borders of Cilieia and Syria, a vast 
Persian army under Darius Codomannus was met. The 
nature of the ground, was such that the Persian superiority 
in numbers did not tell ; Alexander here won a signal victory 
(333 B.C.), and Darius fled, leaving his mother and his wife 
captives. 

Alexander did not immediately follow up the Persians, 
but proceeded from Issus against Tyre, Gaza and Egypt, at 
this time under the dominion of Persia. Twenty months 
sufficed for the reduction of these places. The foundation of 
the great seaport Alexandria — an act of far-sighted policy 
on the part of Alexander — was a result of his sojourn in 
Egypt. 

Having possessed himself of all the maritime provinces 



The World's Decisive Battles 243 

of Persia, Alexander, in 331 B. C, proceeded to seek his 
enemy in the heart of his empire. The final conflict was 
known as the battle of Arbela (in Assyria) ; but though the 
action bears the name of Arbela, it was in reality fought at 
Gaugamela, a village twenty miles distant. Here Darius 
had chosen his ground and arrayed the full force of his em- 
pire. But the Asiatic soldier was inferior to the European, 
and the invading force was led by a consummate military 
genius. The result was the complete overthrow of a Persian 
force of a million men by less than fifty thousand Greeks 
(331 B. C.) . So decisive was the victory that the three capi- 
tals of the empire, Babylon, Susa and Persepolis, surrendered 
almost without resistance. The Persian monarch became a 
fugitive, and was ere long assassinated. 

THE BATTLE OF THE METAUEUS 

Following the triumph over Carthage by the Romans, 
the citizens of that city felt that they had been deeply 
wronged, and long studied how the injury done them might 
be revenged. Under the leadership of Hamilcar they directed 
their attention to Spain, where they already had a strong 
foothold, as a fit "base of operations" against the Romans. 
Hamilcar's great object in subjugating Spain was to obtain 
the means of attacking the hated rival of his country. His 
implacable animosity against Rome is shown by the well- 
known tale, that when he crossed over to Spain, in 235 B. C, 
taking with him his son Hannibal, then only nine years old, 
he made him swear at the altar eternal hostility to Rome. 
Hamilcar fell in battle, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, 
Hasdrubal, and when the latter was assassinated the com- 
mand of the army devolved upon Hannibal. 



246 The World's Decisive Battles 

When, at the age of twenty-six, Hannibal was appointed 
to the command of the Carthaginian army in Spain, he car- 
ried the Carthaginian line up to the Ebro and besieged Sagun- 
tum, an ally of Rome. The city fell, and Rome immediately 
declared hostilities. The result was the second Punic War, 
which began in the year 218 B. C. Before the Roman army 
was ready to take the field, Hannibal, who was one of the 
greatest military geniuses that ever lived, had crossed the 
Pyrenees on his way to Italy. He then proceeded to perform 
one of the most famous exploits on record. With his army 
he climbed over the Alps (218 B. C.) , losing more than 30,- 
000 men, burst into the plain of Italy and defeated the 
Romans in four battles, the greatest of which was Cannae, 
fought in 216 B. C. 

In Italy the career of Hannibal was most extraordinary. 
For fifteen years (217-202 B. C.) he maitnajned himself in 
the peninsula, moving hither and thither, keeping seven or 
eight Roman generals, among them the wary Fabius and the 
bold Marcellus, continually employed, scattering the Romans 
like chaff wherever he appeared, exhausting the finances of! 
the state, and detaching the Italian nationalities from their 
allegiance: The cautious Fabius, unwilling to risk another 
engagement with Hannibal's army, now flushed with vic- 
tory, adopted the tactics of harassing the invaders as much as 
possible, havering around them, like "a cloud on the moun- 
tains," thus wearing out their resources by delay. The 
Romans were thus enabled to recover somewhat from their 
disasters; but the next year (216 B. C), Hannibal, having 
advanced into southern Italy, was opposed by a large army 
under the consuls Aemilius and Varro; and at Cannae a 
terrific battle took place, which for the fourth time resulted 



The World's Decisive Battles 247 

in a complete victory for the Carthaginians (216 B. C.) . It 
is said that more than fifty thousand Romans fell on the 
field, and that Hannibal sent to Carthage over a bushel of 
gold rings, taken from the fingers of the senators and knights, 
who were found among the slain. 

It is probable that Hannibal might have maintained him- 
self in Italy for an indefinite time, and finally have shattered 
the commonwealth in pieces had it not been that the Romans 
assumed the offensive against Carthage. A vigorous young 
soldier, Publius Scipio, was sent into Spain, which he reduced 
to the condition of a Roman province, thus closing the main 
avenue by which the Carthaginians could send reinforce- 
ments to Hannibal (216-205 B. C). Hannibal, despairing 
of succor from Carthage, now eagerly awaited the arrival of 
a force under his brother Hasdrubal from Spain, which had 
been expected for some time. Hasdrubal managed to march 
from Spain across the Alps into Italy (207 B. C.) , and was 
proceeding on his route to join Hannibal in Umbria when he 
was intercepted by a Roman army, at the Metaurus River, 
and was defeated and slain. Hannibal received notice of 
this disaster by the sight of his brother's gory head, which the 
consuls caused to be thrown into his camp. At the sight of 
this dreadful omen Hannibal exclaimed, "I foresee the doom 
of Carthage!" 

In spite of the cutting of his communications, Hannibal 
could readily have maintained himself in Italy; but now 
Scipio, landing in Africa in 204 B. C, defeated the Numid- 
ians in a great battle, and vanquished the Carthaginians with 
immense slaughter at Utica. Scipio marched almost to the 
gates of Carthage, when the Carthaginian senate, driven to 
despair, recalled Hannibal to the defense of his own country. 



248 The World's Decisive Battles 

Landing in Africa, Hannibal drew up his forces on the 
plain X)i Zama, a town in Numidia. Seeing that his army- 
was far inferior to that of the Romans, he obtained an inter- 
view with Scipio, and proposed a treaty of peace ; but Scipio, 
true to Roman policy, declined the proposal. The battle fol- 
lowed, and Hannibal was defeated with great loss (202 B. 
C). The Carthaginians in consequence were obliged to 
agree to peace on very severe terms. Although the Cartha- 
ginians were not utterly exhausted, yet, by the prudent coun- 
sel of Hannibal, who saw that it would be useless to protract 
the struggle, they consented to accept the terms of peace 
dictated by Scipio and approved by the Roman Senate. 

VICTOEY OF ARMINIUS OVER THE ROMAN LEGIONS UNDER 
VARUS, A. D. 9. 

The reign of Augustus virtually though not formally be- 
gan with the victory at Actium. It lasted forty-five years 
from that event (to 14 A. D.), for Augustus lived to be 
seventy-seven years of age. Although he ruled with abso- 
lute power, he was careful to retain the forms of the republi- 
can government, and to avoid every offensive title, such as 
king or dictator; but he caused all the important offices to 
be conferred upon himself. Thus, as Imperator (com- 
mander-in-chief) , he had the command of the armies, and as 
president of the Senate and consul, he administered the 
civil government. The Senate still held its sessions, but its 
decrees had no real weight. The long civil wars had made the 
Romans greatly desire tranquillity, and as Augustus ruled 
with equity and moderation, they acquiesced in his authority. 
He kept large armies stationed at various parts of the em- 



The World's Decisive Battles 249 

pire to repress all opposition, and he instituted the Praetorian 
Guards to protect his person. He also appointed a special 
council of state with whom he advised in regard to his 
measures. 

Under his direction, campaigns were carried on against 
the tribes in northern Spain and among the eastern Alps — 
the Rhaetians and Vindelicians, as well as in the territories 
bordering on the Rhine and Danube. The provinces of 
Rhaetia, Noricum, Pannonia and Moesia were annexed to 
the empire during his reign ; but his forces met with a severe 
defeat in the attempt to conquer the Germans living to the 
east of the Rhine. Led by the brave and patriotic Arminius, 
or Hermann, some of the tribes that had submitted to the 
Romans revolted, and the proconsul Varus was surprised and 
his army cut to pieces. 

Varus, after being severely wounded in a charge of the 
Germans against his part of the column, committed suicide 
to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy. Mercy to a 
fallen foe had never been a Roman virtue ; and the infuriated 
Germans, giving like for like, slaughtered their oppressors 
with deliberate ferocity. Those prisoners who were not hewn 
to pieces on the spot were only preserved to perish by a more 
cruel death in cold blood. 

No victory was ever more decisive, nor the liberation of 
an oppressed people more instantaneous and complete. 
Roman garrisons in all parts of Germany were assailed and 
cut off, and shortly after Varus had fallen the German soil 
was freed from the foot of an invader. 



250 The World's Decisive Battles 

BATTLE OF CHALONS, A. D. 451 

The great Western empire was fast dissolving. In the 
early part of the fifth century three fragments broke oft 
f rom the decaying trunk. The province of Britain was evac- 
uated by the Romans and was soon overrun by the German 
tribes called Angles and Saxons. The various Teutonic 
tribes were pressing into Gaul, and from Gaul into Spam. 
Spain was conquered by Vandals, Sueves and other German 
races, while Gaul was filled with Franks and Burgundians 
and Goths, all of whom belonged to the great Teutonic fam- 
ily. The province of Africa, too, was lost ; for a band ot V an- 
dals under Genseric passed over from Spain to Carthage, 
which was conquered in A. D. 439. 

Meanwhile Attila the Hun had gone forth from his log 
house on the plain of Hungary, at the head of hali ? a million 
savages, to conquer the world. Crossing the Rhine, he 
pierced to the center of Gaul ; but at Chalons he was defeated 
by the united power of the Romans, Goths and Franks, A. 
D 451 In this memorable battle Aryan civilization and 
Tartar despotism met in a life-and-death struggle, and the 
nobler triumphed. Being defeated in Gaul, Attila climbed 
the Alps and overran Italy, pillaging and destroying through 
all the northern provinces ; but his attacks were never fraught 
with such peril to the civilized world as had menaced it be- 
fore his defeat at Chalons. It is a strange fact that it was 
through the persuasion of the Pope, Leo I, that Attila was 
induced to return to Hungary. Here, in A. D. 453, he broke 
a blood vessel. So died one whose savage boast it was that 
grass never grew on a spot where his horse had trodden. His 
great empire immediately fell to pieces. 



The World's Decisive Battles 251 

BATTLE OF TOURS, A. D. 732 

A Visigothic kingdom had been established in Spain ; but 
Roderick, the "last of the Goths," was defeated on the field 
of Xeres, and the Saracens established themselves firmly in 
Spain. In the course of a few years they had possession of 
the whole peninsula, with the exception of the mountainous 
districts in the north, where the little Christian kingdom of 
the Asturias maintained itself. 

The ambition of the Saracens now overleaped the Pyre- 
nees. They obtained a lodgment in southern Gaul, and after 
a time an able Saracenic commander, Abdelrahman, led a 
powerful Mohammedan army northward to subdue the land 
of the Franks. As far as the Loire everything fell before 
him, and it seemed that all Europe would come under Moslem 
sway. 

It was in the hour of need that Charles Martel appeared 
as a champion for Christendom. Gathering a powerful army, 
he met the Saracens between Tours and Poitiers. A des- 
perate battle, which lasted for seven days, ensued ; but on the 
seventh day the Saracens were defeated with great slaughter, 
A. D. 732. This victory arrested forever the progress of the 
Mohammedan arms in Europe, and procured for Charles the 
expressive surname of "the Hammer" (Martel), by which 
he is known in history. 

BATTLE OF HASTINGS, A. D. 1066 

In the Saxon period of the history of England, which 
includes that of the Heptarchy, about three and a half cen- 
turies preceding the consolidation of the Saxon kingdoms by 



252 The World's Decisive Battles 

Egbert, the Danes commenced their invasions. These people 
were Norsemen who had come from Norway to Denmark, 
and occupied the lands left uninhabited by the emigration of 
the Angles and Jutes to Britain. The Danes for a long 
time continued to harass the kingdom of England, in the 
reigns of both Egbert and his successors, the Saxon kings of 
England. The most eminent of these Saxon kings was 
Alfred the Great, who, though at one time entirely over- 
whelmed by the Danes, afterward defeated his enemies and 
regained his throne. 

During the next century the Danes continued their in- 
cursions, until the English monarch was compelled to sur- 
render one-half of his dominions to the Danish conqueror 
Canute, and soon afterward the latter obtained full posses- 
sion of the throne (A. D. 1017), which he and his two suc- 
cessors held, until the Saxon line was again restored in the 
person of Edward, called the Confessor. Edward dying 
without heirs, the crown was conferred by the clergy and 
nobles upon Harold, son of Earl Godwin, the most powerful 
nobleman of the time, whose daughter Edward had married.; 
Harold was also, through his grandmother, a descendant oh 
Sweyn, the Danish king. His right to the throne was, how- 
ever, disputed by his brother Tostig, who, having entered into 
an alliance with the King of Norway, was enabled to raise 
a large army; but he was defeated by the English forces! 
Under Harold, after a severe battle fought near the Derwent 
River, in the northern part of England (September 25,j 
1066). 

Three days after this battle, a more powerful competitor 
for the throne landed on the southeastern shore of England, 
with a large and finely equipped army. This was William, 1 



The World's Decisive Battles 253 

Duke of Normandy, to whom Edward had bequeathed the 
throne, and whose claim was sanctioned by the Pope; while 
Harold, who, it was said, had sacredly promised not to dis- 
pute William's claim, was viewed by many as guilty of 
usurpation and perjury. Harold, notwithstanding his re- 
cent conflict with the Norwegians, marched with all the forces 
he could collect to oppose the Normans. The battle, which 
was long and bloody, was fought near Hastings, on the site 
of the town now called Battle, in the southeastern part of 
England, and resulted in the entire defeat of the Saxons, 
Harold himself being slain (October 14, 1066) by being 
struck with an arrow through the left eye. The old Anglo- 
Saxon heroism, worthy of a better fate, set in that dark 
eclipse; the battle-ax no longer availed against the Norman 
spear. There was neither rout nor flight, so great was the 
despairing energy with which the English fought. King 
Harold's army was exterminated but not vanquished, and 
England lay paralyzed at the foot of the conqueror. 

JOAN OF ARC'S VICTORY OVER THE ENGLISH AT ORLEANS, A. D. 

1429 

Charles the Seventh, surnamed the Victorious, was 
crowned, A. D. 1422, at Poitiers ; but Henry the Seventh of 
England, had already been proclaimed king of France, in 
accordance with the treaty of Troyes. The Duke of Bed- 
ford, the English regent, gained a great victory over the 
army of Charles, consisting partly of Scotch and other 
auxiliaries (A. D. 1424). This dreadful disaster to Charles 
was followed (A. D. 1428) by the siege of Orleans, the last 
stronghold of his party, while no hope was entertained by 
the French of being able to repel its assailants. 



254 The World's Decisive Battles 

The deliverance of Charles was, however, effected by one 
of the most extraordinary occurrences recorded in history. 
Joan of Arc, a simple peasant girl, had been told of a proph- 
ecy, to the effect that France could be delivered from its 
enemies only by a virgin ; and she became impressed with the 
idea that to her had been divinely committed the task ofl 
effecting this great object. She also said she heard voices 
that told her this. She soon induced others to believe in the 
truth of her mission, among them the king and his chief offi- 
cers, and was admitted into Orleans, arrayed in armor, and 
provided with a train of attendants (A. D. 1429) . 

Under her leadership, the French attacked the English 
with renewed courage, and soon compelled them to raise the 
siege. She next urged the king to march to Rheims, in order 
to assume the crown of his ancestors according to the accus- 
tomed rites; and, partly under her leadership, the French, 
after several victorious battles, reached the city, which the 
English were compelled to surrender, and the king was 
crowned in the great cathedral. Joan then declared her mis- 
sion ended, and wished to be dismissed; but her services be 
ing still demanded, she remained in the army, and a shor j 
time afterward fell into the power of the English, and was^ 
burnt to death at Rouen on a charge of sorcery. Nothing,, 
however, was gained by the English from this cruel execu- 
tion of the "Maid of Orleans," for they continued to suffer 
defeat until they finally lost all their French possessions ex- 
cept Calais. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES— Continued 

(Defeat of Spanish Armada to Waterloo) 

The Spanish Armada — Battle of Blenheim — Battle of Put- 
totva — Burgoyne's Defeat at Saratoga — Battle of Valmy 
— Battle of Waterloo. 

DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA 

WHEN" Mary Queen of Scots fled across the border and 
came to implore the pity of Elizabeth, the English 
queen cast her into prison, where she remained for eighteen 
years. During this time Elizabeth was constantly harassed 
by plots formed by her Catholic subjects in behalf of the 
, prisoner. When one Babington formed a conspiracy for as- 
\ sassinating Elizabeth and placing Mary on the throne, the 
latter became liable to the punishment for treason. She was 
I subjected to a formal trial in her prison and found guilty. 
The warrant for her execution was delayed by the re- 
luctance — real or pretended — of Elizabeth. At last the 
queen signed the warrant and sent her secretary with it to 
the chancellor, that it might receive the great seal. Recalling 
this order next day, she found that she was too late ; the seal 
was affixed, and the warrant was on the way to Fotheringay 

255 



256 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

prison. There, in one of the castle halls, in the gray light 
of a February morning (A. D. 1587), Mary Stuart, aged 
forty-five, was beheaded. 

The Catholic powers of the Continent formed many 
schemes for annoying or dethroning Elizabeth, and these 
finally culminated in a great invasion by Spain. The In- 
vincible Armada, the most formidable fleet ever seen up to 
that time, was fitted out against England. This armament 
consisted of 129 ships, 3,000 cannon and 20,000 men, while 
34,000 additional land forces prepared to join from the 
Netherlands. 

In July, 1588, the Armada entered the English Channel. 
Thirty vessels prepared to meet the Spanish fleet. The com- 
mand was taken by Lord Howard, of Effingham. The Eng- 
lish fleet attacked the Armada in the channel, and was 
found to have a considerable advantage in the lightness and 
manageableness of the vessels. After seven days, only three 
of which passed without warm actions, though there was no 
decisive engagement, the Spanish fleet was so harassed and 
damaged that it was forced to take shelter in the roads of 
Calais. The English during the night sent in fire-ships, 
which destroyed several vessels and threw the others into 
such confusion that the Spaniards no longer thought of vic- 
tory, but of escape. At daybreak they were attacked by 
Howard, Drake and Lord Henry Seymour, and though the 
Spaniards fought gallantly, they were completely at disad- 
vantage. In seamanship and gun practice they were inferior 
to their adversaries, and their great floating castles were no J 
match for the active little English vessels. Had not the , 
queen's ill-timed parsimony kept her fleet insufficiently sup- | 
plied with powder, the Armada would have been destroyed, j 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 257 

As it was, the Spanish leader, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, 
attempted to return home by sailing round the north of Scot- 
land; but dreadful storms arose, scattering the fleet about 
in the seas of Scotland and Ireland; and of the triumphant 
navy that sailed from Lisbon but a third part returned in a 
wretched state to tell of the calamity. 

This success was regarded as a triumph, not so much of 
England as of the Protestant cause throughout Europe. It 
virtually established the independence of the Dutch, raised 
the courage of the Huguenots in France and completely de- 
stroyed the decisive influence that Spain had acquired in the 
affairs of Europe. 

BATTLE OF BLENHEIM, A. D. 1704 

This conflict, which took place during the War of the 
Spanish Succession, between England and France, was pre- 
cipitated by the same considerations which played such an 
important part in the European war of 1914, namely, the 
balance of power. 

The king of Spain, Charles II, died in the year 1700, 
leaving no children, but leaving a will by which he bequeathed 
the succession of his house to a grandson of Louis XIV, 
named Philip of Anjou. This at once alarmed the nations 
of Europe as a menace to the balance of power, for Philip 
of Anjou was a mere boy. The astute and ambitious Louis 
XIV would himself be the real ruler, and the close union of 
two such kingdoms as France and Spain was greatly to be 
feared. 

Accordingly the German Emperor and William III of 
England united with Holland and Prussia to prevent Philip's 



258 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

wearing the crown of Spain. They supported the claims of 
the Archduke Charles, second son of the German Emperor, 
as King of Spain. William III, who was the head of the 
coalition, died in the midst of his hopes and preparations; 
but two men rose in his place. One of these was the greatest 
general except one in the annals of England, John Churchill, 
Duke of Marlborough ; the other, Prince Eugene of Savoy, 
who headed the armies of the Emperor. 

This War of the Spanish Succession lasted for thirteen 
years (1701-1714), and resulted in the humiliation of Louis 
XIV, who was defeated in all his plans. This war was 
marked by the memorable battle of Blenheim (a small vil- 
lage in Bavaria, on the Danube, near Augsburg) , Ramillies, 
Oudenarde and Malplaquet, where Marlborough sent the 
marshals of the French king in headlong flight. Gibraltar 
was wrested forever from Spain and attached to England. 
The French fleets were 'burned at Vigo, and Toulon was be- 
sieged by sea and land. Prince Eugene in the meantime 
crushed the French power in Italy and approached the 
boundaries of France. Domestic sorrow, too, came to Louis. 
His only son died, then two of his grandsons; and nobody 
remained in the direct line of succession to the old man of 
seventy-four but a great-grandson, then a child in arms. 

BATTLE OF PULTOWA, A. D. 1709 

When Charles XII, sometimes called the "Madman of 
the North," succeeded to the throne of Sweden, in 1697, his 
passion for conquest and military glory at once plunged his 
country into war, which led to many miseries and misfor- 
tunes. A coalition formed against him by Denmark, Poland 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 259 

and Russia led to the Northern War, in which Charles gained 
several brilliant victories over the Danes and Russians; and 
having succeeded in dethroning the king of Poland, placed 
in his stead Stanislas (1704). Quite intoxicated by success, 
he prepared to invade Russia. Peter the Great, Czar of 
Russia, offered terms of peace, but Charles declared that he 
could negotiate only at Moscow. When the czar was in- 
formed of this haughty answer, he coolly replied, "My 
brother Charles affects to play the part of Alexander, but I 
hope he will not find in me a Darius." 

The strategy adopted by Peter for the purpose of meet- 
ing this invasion was simple and sensible. The advance of 
the Swedes on the direct line to Moscow was prevented by 
the destruction of the roads and the desolation of the coun- 
try. Notwithstanding privations and misfortunes, Charles 
continued the campaign even in the depth of winter, though 
the season was so severe that 2,000 men were at once frozen 
to death, almost in his presence. 

At length Charles laid siege to Pultowa, which contained 
one of the czar's principal magazines. The town was ob- 
stinately defended, and Charles was wounded in the heel 
while viewing the works. Before he recovered he learned 
that Peter was advancing to raise the siege. Leaving 7,000 
men to guard the works, the Swedes advanced to intercept 
the Russians, accompanied by their king borne in a litter. 
The battle was decided by the Russian artillery, for Charles 
in his rapid march had abandoned his cannon. In less than 
two hours the Swedish army was ruined, and Charles, with 
only 300 followers, sought shelter within the frontiers of 
Turkey. He succeeded in persuading the Turkish emperor 
to declare war against Russia; but he afterward quarreled 



260 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

with the emperor, and was compelled, after remaining more 
than five years in Turkey, to flee. 

To pursue the subsequent career of Charles XII would 
be aside from our purpose here. Suffice it to say that this 
astonishing man ran a course of nine years longer — a course 
of strange ups and downs — and was finally killed by a can- 
non ball while besieging the castle of Fredericshall in Nor- 
way, 1718. 

BURGOYNE's DEFEAT BY THE AMERICANS AT SARATOGA, 1777 

George III of England in 1760 ascended a glorious 
throne. Through the energy and foresight of William Pitt, 
known as the Great Commoner, Britain had become the first 
nation in the world. 

The reign of George III was fruitful in Colonial history. 
Indeed, ere it was five years old, symptoms of the great, and 
to Britain disastrous, American War began to appear. The 
trouble arose during the administration of Mr. Grenville, 
showing itself decisively on the passage of the Stamp Act, in 
1765, for the purpose of raising a revenue in America. The 
measure was greatly opposed in Parliament by the Earl of 
Chatham and others, as impolitic and unjust. The govern- 
ment insisted on its right to tax the colonies, and the latter, 
after a resistance of ten years, were finally driven into the 
War of the Revolution, which commenced at Lexington, in 
Massachusetts, April 19, 1775. The next year, the thirteen 
colonies, through their representatives in Congress, declared 
their independence (July 4, 1776) , which, after a determined 
struggle of nearly seven years, they successfully achieved, 
the British general Cornwallis, being compelled to surrender 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 261 

his army to George Washington at Yorktown (October 19, 
1781). 

Previous to this event, the Americans under General 
Gates had compelled the surrender of a British army under 
Burgoyne, at Saratoga (1777), and the French king, Louis 
XVI, taking advantage of this success, had acknowledged 
the independence of the colonies. A war, therefore, ensued 
between England and France, which continued until 1783, 
when a treaty of peace was concluded at Paris, one of the 
conditions of which was that the independence of the Ameri- 
can colonies should be acknowledged by England. 

General Gates, after the victory at Saratoga, immediately 
despatched Colonel Wilkinson to carry the happy tidings to 
Congress. On being introduced into the hall, he said: "The 
whole British army has laid down its arms at Saratoga; our 
own, full of vigor and courage, expect your order. It is for 
your wisdom to decide where the country may still have need 
for their service." 

Of the ultimate result, Botta, the Italian historian, says : 

"No one any longer felt any doubt about their achieving 
their independence. All hoped, and with good reason, that 
a success of this importance would at length determine 
France, and the other European powers that waited for her 
example, to declare themselves in favor of America. There 
could no longer be any question respecting the future, since 
there was no longer the risk of espousing the cause of a peo- 
ple too feeble to defend themselves." 

BATTLE OF VALMY, 1792 

The spirit of revolution which had set France in a blaze 
menaced every throne, and it behooved the kings of Europe 



262 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

to see to their own safety. Armies were raised by Austria 
and Prussia to defend the royal cause, hostilities were threat- 
ened, and the Legislative Assembly declared for war, April 
20, 1792. Soon afterward a force of 70,000 Prussians and 
68,000 Austrians and emigrant French royalists crossed the 
frontier. Perhaps no effort on the part of his most eager 
enemy could have so injured the cause and periled the safety 
of Louis XVI. The Assembly replied by fitting out an 
army of 20,000 national volunteers, and giving the command 
to General Dumouriez, who in several actions repelled the 
invaders. 

During the battle, the King of Prussia, indignant at the 
repulse by Kellerman (father of the distinguished officer 
of that name whose cavalry charge decided the battle of 
Marengo), formed the flower of his men in person, re- 
proached them for their lack of support, and led them on 
again to the attack. But Dumouriez had arrived with rein- 
forcements for Kellerman. Again the Prussians retreated, 
leaving 800 dead behind, and the French were the victors on 
the heights of Valmy. 

BATTLE OF WATERLOO, 1815 

So unpopular did Louis XVIII make himself that soon 
all hearts began to turn once more to the exile of Elba- 
Napoleon. And he was now to startle Europe with a new 
appearance on the stage. 

In the early part of 1815, after ten months in Elba, Napo- 
leon escaped. Landing near Cannes, he pushed on to Paris 
with Marshal Ney, who had been sent to oppose his progress, 
but who had deserted to him, and, joined by a small body 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 263 

of troops, reached Paris without firing a shot. He was 
greeted with acclamations of joy by all classes (March 20, 
1815). Louis XVIII fled to Ghent. At this time a con- 
gress was sitting at Vienna, and the task of reconstructing the 
map of Europe, so roughly disturbed by Napoleon, was go- 
ing on when the news came. The news is said to have been 
greeted by the assembled diplomatists first with a silent 
stare of incredulity and then with a roar of laughter. 

But Napoleon was in Paris, levying troops, and in less 
than two months an army was organized of over 200,000 
men, exclusive of the National Guards. 

Meantime, the allies, realizing that action must be prompt 
and decisive, immediately declared Bonaparte an outlaw, and 
poured their armies toward France, for the impending con- 
flict. Three vast armies were collected; the first consisting 
of Austrians, under Prince Schwarzenberg; the second, of! 
British, Germans and Prussians, under Wellington and 
Blucher, and the third, of Russians, under the Emperor 
Alexander. 

Resolving to deal first with the enemies nearest to him, 
Napoleon invaded Belgium, where lay the English and 
Prussians under Wellington and Blucher. Operations com- 
menced on the 15th of June; and, on the 18th, was fought 
the memorable battle of Waterloo, in which the allies under 
Wellington repulsed the French and drove them into irre- 
trievable retreat and ruin. 

Hastening to Paris to announce that all was lost, Napo- 
leon found that his star had set. On June 22, 1815, he signed 
his second abdication, and the allies, entering Paris fifteen 
days later, reinstated Louis XVIII as King of France. 
Napoleon, balked in his effort to escape to the United States, 



264 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 



surrendered himself to the commander of a British vessel of 
war. But the British government regarded him as a tiger 
who was better chained than free, and he lived on the lonely 
rock of St. Helena until his death, May 5, 1821. 

His last words, as he lay dying amid the crash and glare 
of a tropical thunder storm were, "Tete d'armee!" ("Head 
of the army!") 




GERMAN WAR BASE IN CHINA 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE WORLD'S DECISIVE BATTLES— Cont'd. 

QUEBEC TO TSU-SHIMA 

The Fall of Quebec — Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown 
' — Battle of Vichsburg — Battle of Gettysburg — Battle 
of Sedan — Battle of Manila Bay — Battles of Santiago 
— Battle of Tsu-Shima. 

THE FALL OF QUEBEC, A. D. 1759 

NOTWITHSTANDING a treaty of peace wag made 
with France at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, by which 
Maria Theresa's claim to the throne was, confirmed, the war 
was soon after renewed in consequence of disputes respect- 
ing the boundary of the French and English territories in 
America. 

The decisive battle of this series was fought in 1759. 
[Before daylight on the morning of September 13, Wolfe, 
with 1,700 picked men in thirty boats, floated down the St. 
Lawrence in the shadow of the almost unsurmountable cliffs 
reaching to the Plains of Abraham above, passed the shore 
sentinels by the pretense that they were provision convoys ; 
and, landing two miles above Quebec, climbed a small, wind- 
ing path, sighted by Wolfe two days before, and reached 
the plains above. Nothing daunted by the abattis and 
trenches which obstructed the path, the climbing party of 

265 



266 The World's Decisive Battles Continued 

twenty-four men reached the top; and, overcoming the weak 
guard of a hundred men, made way for their comrades. An 

hour later, l.Mh) men of the British army were in battle array 
before the walls of Quebec, 

Montcalm, on the other side of the St. Charles, though 
amazed at the daring teat, massed his troops and gave battle. 
The conflict lasted seven hours, and both generals fell on 
the field of battle; the British lost fifty-eight killed and 597 
wounded, while the French losses were 800 killed and <.H)0 
wounded and taken prisoners of war. In extreme disorder, 
the helpless garrison of Quebec surrendered. September 17, 
1759, and England was virtually given possession of Canada. 

SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS AT YORKTOWN 

The year preceding this momentous event gave small 
promise at the outset that the American struggle for inde- 
pendence would end within the near future. The English 
held New York, and Cornwallis was confident of victory in 
the South. The army of the latter, however, was soon worn 
out by the brilliant campaigning of Greene and the strategy 
of Lafayette, and he settled himself at Yorktown. 

Washington, who from New York was watching the 
Southern campaigns closely, learned that the French fleet 
under Count de Grasse was leaving the AN' est Indies for 
the purpose of taking a hand in the operations in Virginia, 
and at once planned a new and brilliant, campaign. Assem- 
bling with bis own army the French troops of Koehambeau, 
from Newport, Washington tricked Clinton, the British 
commander in New York, into the belief that that city was 
to be besieged: and, having thrown the enemy off their 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 267 

guard, hurried the American and French armies to Chesa- 
peake Bay. Here he was joined by the West Indian fleet of 
de Grasse, and another fleet which had been sent from New- 
port. De Grasse held Chesapeake Bay against the attack 
of Admiral Graves and the British fleet. If Rodney, instead 
of Graves, had commanded the British fleet, the victory 
would have been with the English, who, retaining control of 
the water, would have given support to Cornwallis in the 
South, and saved his army, and brought to naught Washing- 
ton's carefully laid plans. 

The news that Cornwallis had surrendered caused much 
joy throughout the American colonies; and at Philadelphia, 
the seat of the national government, the enthusiasm of the 
people knew no bounds. Congress, assembling at an early 
hour, heard Washington's dispatch read, then went in a body 
to the Lutheran church to "return thanks to the Almighty 
God for crowning the allied arms of the United States and 
France with success." 

The effect on England of the struggle which ended at 
Yorktown is described by Buckle, in his "History of Civili- 
zation," as follows: 

"In order to enforce the monstrous claim of taking a 
whole people without their consent, there was waged against 
America a war ill-conducted, unsuccessful, and, what ps far 
worse, accompanied by cruelties disgraceful to a civilized 
nation. To this may be added, that an immense trade was 
nearly annihilated; every branch of commerce w r as thrown 
into confusion; we were disgraced in the eyes of Europe; 
we incurred an expense of 140,000,000 pounds; and we lost 
by far the most valuable colonies any nation has ever pos- 
sessed." 



268 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

BATTLE OF VICKSBURG, JANUARY- JULY, 1868 

After Farragut had cleared the lower Mississippi River, 
Vicksburg was the sole remaining link uniting the eastern 
and western territory of the Confederacy; and the capture 
of that city by Grant cut the Confederacy in two, and, like 
Gettysburg, turned the tide of fortune toward the North. 

It was the purpose of Grant, who commanded 50,000 
men, to push southward through Mississippi and flank Vicks- 
burg, thus ensuring its fall; but he was overruled by his 
superiors, and his troops divided, almost two-thirds of them 
being given to Sherman with orders to proceed down the 
river from Memphis. Grant hoped for cooperation between 
himself and Sherman, but this was impossible; there was 
not even a means of communication between them. 

John A. McClernand, who at the outbreak of the war 
was a member of Congress from Illinois, and later com- 
manded a division at Donelson and Shiloh, overcame the 
reluctance of Lincoln and Stanton and prevailed upon them 
to permit him to raise and command a large force in the 
West, for the purpose of taking Vicksburg. The result was 
thirty regiments, with which McClernand joined Sherman; 
the latter was given a subordinate place, and McClernand 
assumed command of the combined forces. Though the 
victory was due to Sherman and the navy, the credit went to 
McClernand, who was nominally the commander. 

After four weary months of hardship, accompanied by 
innumerable efforts to gain access to the city, which had 
been proved impregnable, Grant resolved to try the river 
bank to the west. Below the town he was met by an abun- 
dance of supplies and ample means for placing it on the 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 269 

other bank. Failing in his assault on the bluff to the south 
of the city, Grant drew the Confederate forces away from 
the upland by the ruse of running a few hundred cavalry 
through Mississippi from north to south, thus creating the 
impression of large numbers, and, unopposed, soon stood 
fairly on the left bank. A few more easy victories to the 
east and south gave him the desired advantage; and with 
the long delayed supplies and reinforcements now coming in 
unhindered, he was certain of success. 

A six weeks' siege of the city followed. Grant's army, 
nearly doubled in size, and possessing an abundance of food 
and munitions, encircled the starving defenders ; and on July 
4, 1863, the city surrendered unconditionally. 

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, JULY 1-3, 1863 

The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the crucial events of 
military history, was the event which turned the tide of suc- 
cess from the South to the North, and marked the beginning 
of the end of the most momentous conflict in the history of 
America. 

The organization by McClellan of the Army of the Poto- 
mac gave him a well disciplined force, with which he faced 
General Joseph Johnston in the early part of 1862; but the 
withdrawal of the Northern forces following the bloody 
fighting at Fair Oaks and the Seven Days' Battles crippled 
the Northern cause to a marked degree. Pope's defeat near 
Bull Run, the failure of the forward movement, the fact 
that the Northern forces had progressed only 100 miles — 
from Richmond to Washington — in the three months from 
June to September, the desperate battle of Antietam, fol- 



270 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

lowed by the costly defeat of Burnside at Fredericksburg, 
closed a gloomy year in the East, and demonstrated the 
fighting qualities of the South. Fresh disaster to the North- 
ern arms was seen in Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville at 
the beginning of the new year. 

Then the tide turned, and the result is spelled in one word 
— Gettysburg. The Confederates charged; the Federals 
converged, and the tide rolled slowly and heavily rearward. 
The South's hope of ultimate victory was crushed. 

BATTLE OF SEDAN, SEPTEMBER 1, 1870 

The occasion of the German war with France was the 
fact that Leopold, of Hohenzollern, a kinsman of the king 
of Prussia, allowed himself to be a candidate for the Span- 
ish throne; but the underlying cause was the intense jealousy 
of Napoleon III. at the success of Prussia in gathering so 
great a part of Germany around herself. 

The French armies, under Marshals McMahon and 
Bazaine, marched to the Rhine. But the German states, 
with perfect unanimity, joined all their forces under King 
William of Prussia, to repel the invaders; and immense 
armies, splendid in discipline and equipment, were promptly 
concentrated near the east bank of the Rhine, under the 
Prussian monarch, aided by Von Moltke and other generals. 
In the first conflicts, McMahon was defeated and driven into 
retreat; but he took up a strong position at Sedan. Here 
,was fought a great and decisive battle, on September 1, 
1870; and the French, driven from their position and com- 
pletely surrounded, were compelled to surrender* More 
than 80,000 men laid down their arms ; the Emperor Napo- 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 271 

leon III., who was present with this army, yielded his sword 
to King William, and received as his residence the Castle of 
Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel. While a part of the German 
army marched on Paris and invested that city, Bazaine was 
shut up in Metz, where, on the 21st of October, he surren- 
dered his army prisoners of war. 

BATTLE OF MANILA BAY, MAY 1, 1898 

Few possessions have been the subject of more discus- 
sion in state departments than the Island of Cuba. During 
the whole of the nineteenth century, it was said, officially and 
unofficially, that the "Union can never enjoy repose nor 
possess reliable security as long as Cuba is not embraced 
within its boundaries." The incident of the American 
schooner Virginius, in 1873, gave added impetus to the move- 
ment for the control of Cuba by the United States, despite 
the apologies of Spain in the matter. The same may be 
said of the Cuban "Ten Years' War," from 1868 to 1878, 
which was characterized by great cruelty and destructive 
losses of life and property involving American interests. 
Spain's repeated promises to better conditions on the island 
amounted to nothing; and when the conditions of rioting 
extended to Havana itself, the United States sent the cruiser 
(Maine on a friendly visit to that port. 

Three weeks after her arrival, the Maine, while lying at 
her harbor moorings, was blown up, with a loss of 266 lives. 
The verdict of the American Court of Inquiry was that she 
was destroyed from the outside ; the Spanish inquiry resulted 
in a verdict that internal causes destroyed the vessel. 

President McKinley was powerless against the popular 



272 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

sentiment in favor of war with Spain ; Congress was carried 
away by the wave of intense feeling, and, on April 25, 1898, 
war with Spain was formally declared. For the first time 
since 1812 America was at war with a European nation. 

The principal scene of conflict was not the island of 
Cuba, as many people had assumed; but, with the exception 
of the one battle of Santiago, was in the Pacific. A for- 
midable Spanish squadron lay in Manila Bay; and imme- 
diately upon the declaration of war, Commodore Dewey, 
who, with his fleet, had been in the harbor of Hong Kong for 
a month, awaiting developments, sailed for Manila, follow- 
ing the receipt of a cable from President McKinley directing 
him to capture or destroy the Spanish fleet. 

On Saturday night, April 30, the Spanish fort, discov- 
ering the presence of the American vessels, opened fire, and 
was silenced with a six-inch shell from the Concord. The 
next morning, the famous Battle of Manila Bay took place ; 
and no war ever furnished a more decisive victory. No lives 
were lost on the American side; and, with the exception of 
four men who were wounded through the explosion of a 
Spanish shell on the Baltimore, none was injured. The 
damage to the American ships was slight; the Spanish fleet 
was annihilated, and the casualties amounted to about 400 
men. The guns of Commodore Dewey had demolished the 
water batteries of Cavite and made the city of Manila de- 
fenseless. The entire Spanish arsenal was captured. 

On this May day, Spain was expelled from the Pacific, 
and her heritage of Asiatic power passed to the United 
States. 



The World' a Decisive Battles — Continued 278 

THE BATTLES OF SANTIAGO, 1898 

The first step taken by the American government was 
the blockade of Cuba, in order to quickly bring things to an 
issue; and, early in 1898, a large portion of the American 
navy was assembled in Florida waters. At the same time, 
men whose terms of enlistment were about to expire were 
retained in the service, and every effort was made, in various 
ways, to bring the navy up to the highest standard of ef- 
ficiency. 

In April, 1898, Admiral Cervera's division of the Span- 
ish fleet sailed from the Cape Verde Islands; its destination 
was unknown, and for two weeks it disappeared from the 
map, so to speak. Speculation was rife as to its where- 
abouts, and the American navy continually patrolled West 
Indian waters in search of the phantom fleet, which, on May 
12th, appeared off Martinique. The navy department, hav- 
ing heard that Cervera was rushing munitions of war to 
Cuba, and that he intended to ship them to Havana by rail 
from the southern coast of the island, distributed the Ameri- 
can fleet from Cienfuegos to Santiago de Cuba, to intercept 
him. The Spanish squadron, unobserved by the scouting 
cruisers, slipped into Santiago on May 19; and on the same 
day, spies in Havana notified the department to that effect. 
This was two days before Schley's arrival at Cienfuegos, 
and Cervera could easily have made that port had he known 
the conditions. 

On May 28, Schley, returning to Santiago, after the 
much discussed retrograde movement to the west, blockaded 
that port. Admiral Sampson arrived four days later and 
assumed command of the squadron. The blockade lasted 



274 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

almost five weeks, and was eagerly watched by people every- 
where. This period was marked by the daring but unsuc- 
cessful attempt made by Lieutenant Hobson to sink the 
collier Merrimac across the harbor entrance. The plan mis- 
carried; and Hobson and his men, escaping death as by a 
miracle, were captured by the Spaniards. 

Immediately upon the bottling up in Santiago of Cer- 
vera and his fleet, it was decided to send an army to cooperate 
with the navy; and the 200,000 volunteers who had enlisted 
in May were sent to the front. After several desperate bat- 
tles had been fought in the rear of Santiago, the Spaniards, 
on July 3, ceased firing. The losses in the three days' fight 
were eighteen officers and 127 men killed, 65 officers and 849 
men wounded, and 72 men missing. 

Because of the advance made by the American troops on 
Santiago, the Spanish Captain-General, Blanco, ordered 
Cervera out of the harbor, where he had been ''bottled up" 
for two weeks. Cervera, knowing that he was leading a for- 
lorn hope, obeyed. Sampson, long under the impression 
that the Spanish fleet would attempt to escape under cover 
of darkness, kept his ships close to shore, with dazzling 
search-lights constantly playing on the harbor entrance. 

The following morning, July 3, the Spanish ships were 
discovered steaming out of the harbor; and the American 
vessels at once closed in on them. In a little over three 
hours the battle was over; on the American side, only one 
man was killed and one wounded, while the Spaniards lost 
about six hundred in killed and womided. The entire Span- 
ish fleet was wiped out, with the exception of the Colon, 
which returned to shore and surrendered. The American 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 275 

sailors effected gallant rescues of the officers and crews of 
the burning vessels, and extended every humanity to the 
prisoners. 

On July 3, the surrender of the Spanish forces at San- 
tiago being refused by Toral, Shafter, after giving the 
women and children two days in which to evacuate, bom- 
barded the city. At this juncture, Miles arrived with addi- 
tional troops intended for Porto Rico; and, with Shafter, 
met Toral under a flag of truce and arranged terms for the 
surrender, which took place a week later. Following this, 
Miles invaded Porto Rico, and had gained control of all the 
southern and western portions of the island, when hostilities 
were suspended by the peace protocol. The American losses 
here were nominal. 

Manila was assaulted and captured on August 13, the 
day after the signing of the protocol. The news of the sign- 
ing had not, of course, reached the Philippines at this time. 

BATTLE OF TSU-SHIMA (SEA OF JAPAN) 

Since time out of mind Russia has looked longingly upon 
the territory to the south and east of her, as affording her 
seaports free from ice. Following her steady progress across 
Asia, she founded Vladivostock, in the Sea of Japan, in 
1861, thereby obtaining a Pacific seaport. 

Japan was deprived by the great powers of her prizes 
following the war between herself and China; among these 
was Port Arthur, which was occupied in 1898 by the Rus- 
sians, under a secret treaty with China. The latter country 
afterward gave Russia permission to extend her railroad 
lines to Port Arthur; and the czar at once began to multiply 



276 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

supplies and fortifications at that point. Japan protested, 
and Russia promised to evacuate Manchuria; but she did 
not do so. 

Japan decided to strike; and, on February 6, 1904, she 
recalled her minister from St. Petersburg, and sent the Rus- 
sian minister home. Two days afterward, Admiral Togo 
attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur; and the result 
gave Japan naval supremacy in the Pacific. By May, she 
had sent three armies Russiaward. Then came the defeat 
by Kuroki of Zassulitch at the Yalu, the defeat of Stoessel 
and the investment of Port Arthur, the defeat of Stakelberg, 
when he attempted to bring relief, and the long and bloody 
siege of Port Arthur, which terminated in its surrender, 
January 2, 1905. 

Meantime, the great Battle of Liao-Yang, fought in 
August and September, by Oyama, had caused the Russian 
army of Manchuria to retreat to Mukden. In March, 1905, 
Kuropatkin was driven from there; and the Japanese, hav- 
ing a free hand since the fall of Port Arthur, pressed on, 
and occupied Tie-Ling a few days afterward. 

Russia, realizing the ineffectiveness of her army, deter- 
mined to send her Baltic fleet to the rescue; and, on October 
15, 1904, Admiral Rojestvensky sailed from Cronstadt. 
The general inefficiency of the Russian navy, which had long 
been a matter of common report, was established when the 
Russian vessels, off the Dogger Bank in the German Ocean, 
fired upon some defenseless English fishing craft, killing 
several men, then steamed onward, without investigation. 
The Russian admiral afterward reported that it was his 
impression that the craft in question were Japanese torpedo 
boats; but this explanation did not satisfy, and an apology 



The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 277 

and payment of a money indemnity to England were neces- 
sary to close the incident. 

At Tangier, the Russian fleet was divided, part of it tak- 
ing the Suez Canal route, while the remainder went around 
the Cape of Good Hope. In May, 1905 — seven months 
later — the fleet left Annam, and, like Cervera's, in the Span- 
ish-American War, dropped out of sight for two weeks, 
despite the active efforts of the Japanese authorities to locate 
it. It then became apparent that Rojestvensky intended to 
try to make Vladivostock, that he might obtain a base of 
supplies, and refit. The Japanese were determined to pre- 
vent this, and to force the Russian commander to give battle 
while he was in a condition of unpreparedness. 

The Japanese parcelled out the Sea of Japan like a 
checker-board, knowing that Rojestvensky would attempt 
one of the passages there. On May 27, the Russians were 
sighted in Square 203, in the eastern channel, east of the 
Island of Tsu-Shima. Togo, to prevent the escape of the 
Russians to the north, toward Vladivostock, threw his fleet 
across the Russian column, thus bringing a crushing and 
concentrated fire on the leading Russian ships, and at the 
same time masking the guns of the Russian vessels in the 
rear. 

The unequal battle continued, with one catastrophe after 
another befalling the ships of the czar, until sunset, when 
Admiral Togo ordered into action the torpedo fleet; and 
throughout the night these harried the wearied and disorgan- 
ized foe. The following morning, May 28, Admiral Nebog- 
atoff , in charge of the remaining five vessels — all that was 
left of the powerful Russian fleet — hauled down his flag and 
surrendered. 



278 The World's Decisive Battles — Continued 

In its material results, and as an epoch-making event, 
the Battle of Tsu-Shima ranks with the decisive battles of 
the world. Japan, checking the aggressions of Russia in the 
Orient, had changed the map of the world once more, and 
had taken a place in the council of the nations. 




THIS IS WHAT WAR MEANS 



CHAPTER XXXI 

NEUTRALITY OF THE UNITED STATES 

President Wilsons Proclamation of Neutrality — United 
States Declared to Be Absolutely Neutral in Great Con- 
flict — Recognizes the State of War — Acts Forbidden to 
Americans — Acts Forbidden to Belligerents — Presi- 
dent's Warning to Americans to Keep Calm — Wilson's 
Offer of Mediation to Warring Powers — Powers Cour- 
teously Decline Proffer. 

WHILE the European nations were leaping at each 
other's throats it was only natural that the gigantic 
conflict that was getting under way would shake the United 
States. But here only the tremors were felt for President 
Wilson proclaimed the neutrality of the United States on 
August 4. 

The proclamation was drawn by Counsellor Lansing of 
the State Department and Secretary of State Bryan took it 
with him to the regular meeting of the Cabinet. There the 
President submitted the document to the members of the 
Cabinet and it was approved. It was formally issued within 
thirty minutes of the beginning of the Cabinet meeting. 

In form the proclamation followed closely the document 

279 



280 Neutrality of the United States 

of the same character issued by President Roosevelt at the 
time of the Russo-Japanese war. It provided for the abso- 
lute neutrality of the United States and informed the peoples 
of the world that this country would live up to its declara- 
tions. 

In the preamble the existence of a state of war between 
Austria and Servia, between Germany and Russia and 
between Germany and France was formally recognized. It 
was stated that the laws and treaties of the United States 
imposed on all persons residing therein the duty of strict 
neutrality, and that it was the duty of a neutral government 
not to permit the making of its waters subservient to the pur- 
poses of war. 

The President, therefore, made known the acts which 
were forbidden to be done within the United States, in order 
that the neutrality of the nation and of its citizens and other 
residents might be preserved. Eleven restrictions were 
placed on the people and these acts are prohibited: 

Accepting or exercising a commission to serve with one 
belligerent against another. 

Enlisting or entering the service of any belligerent as a 
soldier, sailor, marine or otherwise. 

Hiring or obtaining another person to enlist. 

Hiring another to go beyond the limits of the United 
States for the purpose of enlisting. 

Hiring another to leave the country with the intent to be 
enlisted. 

Retaining another to leave the United States with intent 
to be enlisted. 

Fitting out, or procuring the fitting out, or being con- 



Neutrality of the United States 281 

cerned in the fitting out or arming, of any ship with intent 
that such ship shall be employed in the service of any 
belligerent. 

Issuing or delivering a commission for any ship, to the 
intent that she may be employed by any belligerent. 

In any way taking part in the increasing or augmentation 
of the force or armament of any ship of war belonging to a 
belligerent. 

Setting on foot or aiding in the preparation of any mili- 
tary expedition from the United States against the territories 
of the belligerents. 

FORBIDS USE OF UNITED STATES WATERS 

The proclamation set forth that the use of the waters of 
the United States by any armed vessel of a belligerent, for 
preparation for hostilities, or for spying, must be regarded 
as unfriendly and offensive. Consequently after August 5 
no such vessel was permitted to use any port from which 
a vessel from an opposing belligerent previously departed 
within twenty-four hours. 

Vessels of the belligerents were required to depart from 
any port they enter within twenty- four hours, except in case 
of stress of weather, requiring provisions for the subsistence 
of her crew or for repairs. 

If several ships of opposing belligerents shall enter a 
harbor they are to be required to depart, alternately, at inter- 
vals of twenty-four hours, the proclamation ordered. 

Only such supplies as are necessary for the crew shall be 
carried from a port by any armed vessel of a belligerent, and 
only so much coal as will enable her to get to her nearest 



282 Neutrality of the United States 

home port ; it continued adding that vessels using both steam 
and sail power are to be allowed only half as much coal, and 
no such vessel, without special permission, is to be allowed 
to coal twice within the waters of the United States within 
three months, unless she has in the meanwhile entered a port 
of the Government to which she belongs. 

All citizens and residents were warned that they must not 
take any part in the war, but should remain at peace with all 
the belligerents; that they should not commit any act con- 
trary to the treaties and laws of the United States, and that, 
although having the right to full and free expression of their 
sympathies, they must in no way aid any of the belligerents. 

While all persons may manufacture and sell within the 
United States arms and munitions of war and other articles 
known as contraband of war, the carriage of such on the seas 
was prohibited, as was the transportation of the soldiers of 
belligerents and all attempts to break a blockade lawfully 
established. Such acts, the proclamation warned, will incur 
"the risk of hostile capture and the penalties denounced by 
the law of nations in that behalf ." ><;>y 

The President's proclamation closed : * 

"And I do hereby give notice that all citizens of the 
United States and others, who may claim the protection of 
this Government, who may misconduct themselves in the 
premises, will do so at their peril; and that they can in no 
wise obtain any protection from the Government of the 
United States against the consequences of their misconduct." 

PRESIDENT WARNS AMERICANS 

Before this proclamation and while conditions in Conti- 
nental Europe were getting worse day by day; President 



Neutrality of the United States 283 

Wilson took occasion to sound another warning to Ameri- 
cans. He told them to be calm in the face of the European 
crisis. He said: 

"It is extremely necessary, it is manifestly necessary, in 
the present state of affairs on the other side of the water 
that you should be extremely careful not to add in any way 
to the excitement. Of course, the European world is in a 
highly excited state of mind, but the excitement ought not to 
spread to the United States. 

"So far as we are concerned, there is no cause for excite- 
ment. There is great inconvenience, for the time being, in 
the money market and in our exchanges, and, temporarily, 
in the handling of our crops, but America is absolutely pre- 
pared to meet the financial situation and to straighten every- 
thing out without any material difficulty. The only thing 
that can possibly prevent it is unreasonable apprehension 
and excitement. 

"If I might make a suggestion to you gentlemen, there- 
fore, I would urge you not to give currency to any unverified 
rumor, to anything that would tend to create or add to excite- 
ment. I think that you will agree that we must all at the 
present moment act together as Americans in seeing that 
America does not suffer any unnecessary distress from what 
is going on in the world at large. The situation in Europe is 
perhaps the gravest in its possibilities that has arisen in 
modern times, but it need not affect the United States 
unfavorably in the long run. 

"Not that the United States has anything to take advan- 
tage of, but her own position is sound and she owes it to 
mankind to remain in such a condition and in such a state of 
mind that she can help the rest of the world. 



284 Neutrality of the United States 

"I want to have the pride of feeling that America, if 
nobody else, has her self-possession and stands ready with 
calmness of thought and steadiness of purpose to help the 
rest of the world. And we can do it and reap a great perma- 
nent glory out of doing it, provided we all co-operate to see 
that nobody loses his head. 

"I know from my conferences with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, who is in very close touch with the financial situa- 
tion throughout the country, that there is no cause for alarm. 
There is cause for getting busy and doing the thing in the 
right way, but there is no element of unsoundness and there 
is no cause for alarm. The bankers and business men of 
the country are co-operating with the Government with a 
zeal, intelligence and spirit which make the outcome secure." 

The day following the issuing of his neutrality proclama- 
tion President Wilson tended his good offices to the warring 
nations. 

OFFER OF MEDIATION 

In his cablegram to the German Emperor, the Czar of 
Russia, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, the President of 
France and the King of England, he said : 

"As official head of one of the powers signatory to The 
Hague Convention I feel it to be my privilege and my 
duty, under article three of that convention, to say to you 
in a spirit of most earnest friendship that I should welcome 
an opportunity to act in the interest of European peace, 
either now or at any other time that might be thought more 
suitable, as an occasion to serve you and all concerned in 
a way that would afford me lasting cause for gratitude and 
happiness." 



Neutrality of the United States 285 

Representatives of the German, Russian, Austrian, 
French and English Embassies were notified of the Execu- 
tive's action by Secretary of State Bryan. 

The President acted on his own initiative. He did not 
get suggestion from any neutral or belligerent country on 
the subject. He did what he considered his duty under The 
Hague Convention, which provides that "in case of serious 
disagreement or dispute, before an appeal to arms, the con- 
tracting powers agree to have recourse, as far as circum- 
stances allow, to the good offices or mediation of one or more 
friendly powers. 

"Independently of this recourse, the contracting powers 
deem it expedient and desirable that one or more powers, 
strangers to the dispute, should, on their own initiative, and 
as far as circumstances may allow, offer their good offices 
or mediation to the states as variance. 

"Powers strangers to the dispute have the right to offer 
good offices or mediation even during the course of hostilities. 

"The exercise of this right can never be regarded by either 
of the parties in dispute as an unfriendly act." 

Servia and Montenegro were not included in the offer 
because they were not parties of The Hague Convention. 
Servia took part in the conferences but never ratified the 
document. 

The Hague Convention, signed October 18, 1907, and 
ratified by the United States Senate April 2, 1908, and by 
the President of the United States February 23, 1909, and 
proclaimed a year later, provides that : 

"The part of the mediator consists in reconciling the 
opposing claims and appeasing the feelings of resentment 
which may have arisen between the states at variance. 



286 Neutrality of the United States 

"The functions of the mediator are at an end when once 
it is declared, either by one of the parties to the dispute or 
by the mediator himself, that the means of reconciliation pro- 
posed by him are not accepted. 

"Good officers and mediation undertaken either at the 
request of the parties in dispute or on the initiative of powers 
strangers to the dispute have exclusively the character of 
advice, and never have binding force. 

"The acceptance of mediation cannot, unless there be an 
agreement to the contrary, have the effect of interrupting, 
delaying, or hindering mobilization or other measures of 
preparation for war. 

"If it takes place after the commencement of hostilities, 
the military operations in progress are not interrupted in the 
absence of an agreement to the contrary." 

The responses to this offer of mediation were all of a 
friendly nature and written in a courteous tone but all the 
nations involved declared that they could not accept at this 
time. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

AMERICANS ABROAD AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 

Americans Caught in War Zone — Service Rendered by 
American Diplomats — President Wilson's Call on Con- 
gress for Funds — $250,000 Immediately Voted for Re- 
lief of Stranded Americans — $2,500,000 More Voted for 
Same Purpose — Battleship Tennessee Sails With Gold 
Cargo on Mission of Relief — Refugees Arrive on the 
Philadelphia — The France and New York Return 
Crowded With Refugees — Stories of Thrilling Expe- 
riences. 

OVER 250,000 Americans who had gone to Europe to 
tour the Continent or were temporary residents there 
were caught in the vortex of the war zone early in August. 
Many of the Americans abroad at the time of the outbreak 
of war had thrilling experiences. Many were stranded in 
strange countries, unable to get their travelers' checks cashed. 
They suffered great hardship. Nor was the lot of wealthy 
tourists a bit lighter than that of the thousands of school 
teachers who were traveling "in suit cases," so to speak. 

The United States government took prompt steps to aid 
the stranded Americans. The State Department kept the 
cable wires hot between this country and Europe. Diplo- 

287 



288 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

matic and consular officials to the warring countries received 
orders to relieve the suffering of Americans. In such a 
crisis the often scoffed at diplomatic service of the United 
States rose to heights of efficiency. 

PRESIDENT APPEALS FOR FUNDS 

President Wilson asked Congress to appropriate $250,- 
000, on August 3, with which to relieve immediately Ameri- 
cans abroad. Congress promptly rushed through a bill 
granting that amount. The following day he asked for 
$2,500,000 in an additional appropriation. 

The President's message read: 

"After further consideration of the existing condition in 
Europe in so far as it is affecting citizens of the United 
States who are there without means, financial or otherwise, 
to return to their homes in this country, it seems incumbent 
upon the government to take steps at once to provide ade- 
quate means by the chartering of vessels or otherwise of 
bringing Americans out of the disturbed region and con- 
veying them to their homes in the United States. Moreover, 
in view of the difficulty of obtaining money upon letters of 
credit with which most Americans abroad are supplied, it 
will be necessary to send agents abroad with funds which can 
be advanced on such evidences of credit or used for the assist- 
ance of destitute citizens of the United States. 

"In these circumstances I recommend the immediate pas- 
sage by the Congress of an act appropriating two million five 
hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be 
necessary, to be placed at the disposal of the President for 
the relief, protection and transportation of American citizens 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 289 

and for personal services, rent and other expenses which may 
be incurred in the District of Columbia or elsewhere con- 
nected with or growing out of the existing disturbance in 
Europe." 

Congress promptly backed up President Wilson again, 
and on August 6 the money was on its way to Europe, stowed 
in the after magazines of the United States cruiser Ten- 
nessee. Assistant Secretary Breckinridge went in command 
of the work of relief. Officials of the United States Govern- 
ment who were abroad at the time were ordered to co-operate 
with Mr. Breckinridge in ascertaining the whereabouts of 
stranded Americans so that they might be able to obtain 
speedy relief. 

The first of the American refugees from the real war 
zone reached this country on August 12 when, with 1,012 pas- 
sengers, a crew of 300 men, and six mail clerks on board, 
the American Line steamship Philadelphia warped into her 
pier in New York. Never had the Philadelphia accommo- 
dated such a crowd. There were 703 second cabin passengers 
and 309 in the steerage. Three of the men in the steerage 
could have purchased the Philadelphia several times over, but 
their wealth was not great enough to buy a bed in a second 
cabin. There are no first cabins on the vessel. In one second 
cabin slept fifteen women. Some were compelled to sleep on 
deck, some in the dining saloon and others in the companion- 
way. Many steerage passengers had the run of the deck and 
they were treated with the same consideration, as far as 
possible, as those occupying the cabins. 

The Philadelphia, in charge of Captain Mills, sailed from 
Southampton August 5 and touched Queenstown next day. 
It was found on leaving Queenstown that there was hardly 



290 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

standing room on deck for all the passengers. Men gave up 
their steamer chairs to women and had to remain on their 
feet. So crowded was the deck during the day that pas- 
sengers stumbled over each other. The nights were cold and 
the men who were compelled to sleep in the open almost froze. 

WARSHIPS COVER LINER 

On leaving Queenstown the Philadelphia was followed 
by a British warship. Later another British vessel took the 
place of the first and kept close to the ship until she was well 
on her way. Soon after the last war vessel turned about after 
signalling "All right," the Philadelphia came upon several 
French torpedo boats. 

One of the boats ran close to the liner and signalled 
"Stop!" Captain Mills did not obey, thinking that his flying 
the United States flag was sufficient for him to continue. 
Then came this signal from the French boat: 

"Stop and stop quickly!" 

The Philadelphia obeyed and the torpedo boat came so 
close that the wash from the liner almost swamped it. 

Although the passengers suffered much discomfort 
throughout the trip because of the crowded condition of the 
ship, the weather was favoring them, except those who slept 
on deck. The passengers were mighty glad, however, to see 
Liberty, and when the Philadelphia was drawing into quaran- 
tine and a mail boat came alongside the passengers gave 
rousing cheers. 

"We have a kaiser on board. What shall we do with 
him?" yelled one man, and the passengers laughed. 

"Who played the Giants today?" asked another. 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 291 

And so the ship rang with laughter and questions all the 
way up the bay to the pier. 

GERMAN TROOPS STOP TRAIN 

"I was in Dresden the day war was declared," said A. 
Assman, "and took the first train I could catch for Rotter- 
dam. When we reached the border line the train was stopped 
by troops and every car belonging to a German company 
was detached from the train. 

"At the time we had eight coaches, and all of them were 
crowded to the platforms. The taking off of three coaches 
was a serious matter. All the passengers from these coaches 
had to squeeze into the other already suffocatingly crowded 
coaches. 

"But the greatest hardships were in getting to London. 
There is hardly a passenger on the Philadelphia who has not 
lost his or her baggage. One woman on board who lost all 
her trunks and jewels landed in London with just one 
shilling." 

Milton Blumenthal, who boarded the Philadelphia at 
Southampton, was in Paris when war was declared against 
France by Germany. 

"I left Paris at 5 o'clock next morning," he said. "At 
that time the excitement was intense. The walls of the city 
were placarded with signs which read: 

" 'All men not over thirty-three go to the front.' 

"Even at that hour the streets were crowded with excited 
throngs. I got to London as quickly as possible, but that 
wasn't very quick. This trip to London was disagreeable 
enough to be remembered a lifetime." 



292 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

John A. Wilson, the President's cousin, appeared to be 
the happiest person in the list of bedraggled passengers, 
while Martin Vogel, Assistant Treasurer of the United 
States at New York, appeared to be the most unhappy. Mr. 
Vogel finished up his honeymoon aboard the Philadelphia. 
He said: 

"Americans generally are in an extremely bad way in 
Paris and Berlin. The hotels are all closed in Paris and 
the waiters have all gone to the war. Many Americans are 
actually destitute. There was the case of young Mr. Wide- 
ner of Philadelphia, whose automobile was taken from him 
by the French soldiers while he was touring through the 
country and his chauffeur was hustled off to carry a gun. 
Mr. Bonner, manager of the Ritz-Carlton of Philadelphia, 
also was relieved of his machine while about three miles from 
the Belgian frontier. He was left to hustle for himself. 

"The plight of American women is peculiarly bad. Those 
who have no gold are being subjected to all sorts of indig- 
nities." 

Max Annenburg, circulation manager of the Chicago 
Tribune, was one of the passengers on the Philadelphia. 
With his wife and two children he was in Hamburg at the 
outbreak of the trouble. He thus described his experiences : 

NO GERMAN BOATS SAIL 

"Those who were to sail by the Imperator, of which I 
was one, got into Hamburg on July 30 and had their bag- 
gage transferred to Cuxhaven, their tickets changed and 
everything in readiness to sail the next day. The next morn- 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 293 

ing I woke up at my hotel and the elevator boy told me that 
there were no boats sailing from the German ports. 

"Inside of an hour there was a mob of angry Americans 
storming the offices of the Hamburg- American Line. 

"At last they told us that the ship would not sail and the 
passengers cashed in their tickets. Every one of them got 
their money in German coin and then made a rush for the 
first train for London. 

"About two thousand were able to get aboard the train 
which left for Holland and the rest were left behind. 

"The conditions on the train on which we left were hor- 
rible. The German troops jammed and pushed men, women 
and children aboard until we were fairly piled up in the 
aisles. 

"Literally packed in like sardines, we rode to the Hol- 
land line with many stops. There the soldiers again came 
aboard the train and dumped everybody out. They said that 
the train had to go back to act as a troop train and that now 
we were on Dutch soil the Dutch would have to look after 
us. That was at 3 o'clock in the morning. 

"We waited in the dark for about two hours and a half, 
when a Dutch train backed up and we boarded this for 
Flushing, where we were to ship for England. The trip 
ordinarily takes ten hours. It took us exactly eighteen hours 
and on the way we had neither food nor water." 

"When I left Hamburg there were at least 15,000 trunks 
of Americans piled up on the Hamburg- American Line pier. 
No one will be able to get them until after the war. 

"The boat from Flushing to London usually carries 
about 500 persons ; there were 2,000 on the one on which I 
went over. In London we were in more difficulty because 



294 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

German money was not accepted. From Saturday night 
until the Philadelphia sailed not a bank opened its doors. 

"People coming from Berlin told me they were stopped 
in the streets and made to alight from automobiles. An 
officer would hand them receipts for their automobiles, and 
tell them they might have them after the war." 

Leroy Vanderburgh of New York City was in Amster- 
dam July 31st when the mobilization order was given. 

"The next day we tried to get out," he said, "but could 
not because the train service had been taken over by the 
government. There was tremendous excitement among the 
Dutch. A train was finally made up which took us to the 
Hook of Holland, where we were held for eighteen hours 
waiting for the last train from Berlin. 

"One woman who came on that train from Strasburg told 
that the German soldiers had forced her to change cars 
eighteen times. Others had been put out of a train at 3 
o'clock in the morning by German troops and forced to walk 
across the Holland line." 

The France of the French Line arrived in New York on 
August 20th carrying 1,374 Americans from the war zone. 
In the steerage were forty-two Americans, some prominent ; 
for example, a member of the Spanish Embassy at Wash- 
ington and Charles Leddy, the artist, who painted portraits 
all the way over for the benefit of the Red Cross. 

THE FRANCE MADE A FAST TRIP 

Captain Mourand said he passed four cruisers, all in mid- 
Atlantic. He thought they were British and one the Tigress. 
The entrance to the English Channel was guarded by French 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 295 

torpedo boats. He had two days of fog, and the France 
made more than twenty-two knots an hour part of the way. 
He came across with his lights burning, was challenged by 
an English cruiser and hoisted his colors. 

On the day the France left her home port the eyes of 
Havre citizens were gladdened by the sight of 35,000 British 
troops landing from twenty transports. Bands played, the 
disembarkation was carried on with precision and Frenchmen 
danced with joy, literally embracing their fighting allies from 
across the channel. 

Mrs. Wilson Howe, sister of President Wilson, and her 
daughter and granddaughter, all garbed in mourning, were 
aboard. Mrs. Howe said she had been in Dieppe, whence 
she caught the last train for Paris. She had only two pieces 
of baggage, but lost both. Ambassador Herrick sent the 
party from Paris to Havre in his automobile. 

"Nobody can know the awful experience of Americans in 
a foreign land during mobilization," said Mrs. Totten, the 
wife of John R. Totten of New York. "The little details 
of official inspection, registration and a thousand annoyances 
are a small part of the indescribable situation. I was faint 
for lack of food. There were intervals of fourteen hours 
without anything to eat. I have only the dress I am wearing. 

"We had motored through France, Germany and Swit- 
zerland, but had to give up our tour in Austria and leave 
our car and French chauffeur at Interlaken for the govern- 
ment. The proprietor of the Hotel du Rhein, where we 
stopped in Paris, was a German. Twice mobs threatened 
to blow up the hotel. They gave us half an hour to get out. 
We told the rioters Americans were in the hotel. They said 



296 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

they would blow it up. We shifted to the Hotel Lotti, 
dragging our trunks." 

DANCERS FORCED TO SLEEP IN AUTO 

Mr. and Mrs. M. Maurice, the dancers, of Wilmington, 
Del., and Mr. Maurice's brother, whose professional name 
is Oscar Suzette, and his wife left Vichy August 10th. They 
engaged an auto for $1,000 and stopped en route, at St. 
Pierre, Chartiers, Dreux and Rouen. In Chartiers the police 
told them to get off the street or they would be locked up. 
They slept that night in their auto. 

In another town they slept on straw in a hotel. At still 
another place they slept on the floor of the hotel office. Once 
they changed their machine, the first having been com- 
mandeered. Between Vichy and Havre their passports were 
vised fifty-seven times. They gave a dance there, raising 
8,000 francs for the Red Cross. 

At Havre Mr. Maurice's father had been searching for 
them. 

They paid 4,875 francs for passage and only got aboard 
because so many passengers had left the ship at Havre. 

Robert Morris of New York said he had rather a good 
time waiting in Havre. 

Mrs. J. H. Potts of Chicago, with thirty-nine others, 
went from Paris to Havre on a cattle train. They were 
twelve hours on the road. 

Jules Glaenzer of the Chartiers Company, jewelers, 
brought the five-year-old daughter of his partner, M. Char- 
tier, who had gone to the war, while the little girl's mother 
had left Paris and was unable to return. Mr. Glaenzer said 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 297 

his firm had hustled $40,000,000 of diamonds into the Bank 
of France in two hours August 2d, and 300 members of the 
firm and employes had left for the front. He, being an 
American citizen, was the only one who did not go to the war. 

"stranded" was the password 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles K. Baum were in the Morgan- 
Harjos Bank, Paris, awaiting a chance to have a draft hon- 
ored. A stranger passed them. 

"Stranded?" inquired the stranger. 

"Stranded," said Mr. Baum. 

"Here, take these 700 francs," said the unknown 
American. 

"But I don't know you and you don't know me," replied 
Mr. Baum. 

"Give me your I. O. U.," said the man. "I'll take your 
face." 

The good angel was Charles Rowen. 

In a bazaar Mr. Baum saw a hard-up fellow-countryman 
trying to buy two tickets from Paris to Havre. He did not 
know the man, but Mr. Baum paid for the tickets. The man 
met him on the France and paid him back the sum. 

Francis Campbell of Morgan, Harjes & Co., Paris, said 
he had never seen mobilization so orderly. There was no 
brawling, he said, and the crowds had sung only national 
anthems. 

"There was in Paris for a while a shortage of change, but 
the government issue of 5, 10 and 20 franc notes helped 
us out." 

Little Miss Lucy Churchill McDannel, the daughter of 



298 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

T. H. McDannel, landing agent of the Savannah line, with 
her mother, was studying in Paris before the hegira. They 
were on board the France seventeen days in all. Mrs. Mc- 
Dannel carried her clothes in a pillow case. She lost her 
trunks. 

STATEROOM LAUNDRY ON SHIP 

"Everybody who had lost his baggage," said Miss Lucy, 
who is thirteen years old, "washed his own clothes at night 
and dried them before morning. A Chicago doctor left his 
shoes outside his stateroom door, but by morning they had 
been mobilized." 

Miss Florence Hatzfeld and Miss Lucy Collins of Phila- 
delphia went two days without food because Paris shop 
keepers would not sell it. Miss Hatzfeld, on her way to 
Havre, was jolted off the cattle train on which everybody 
was standing. A pile of trunks fell on top of her. She 
was bruised, but not seriously injured. For ten days the 
young woman had no change of clothing. Miss Hatzfeld 
said all went to bed early and extinguished lights for fear 
of airships dropping bombs. 

Mrs. Florence W. Lawrence and her fifteen-year-old 
daughter, Dorothy, lost all their trunks and money. They 
landed with two handbags. Mrs Lawrence is the wife of 
the editor of the Chicago Examiner. 

Jules S. F. Bache, the banker, said: 

"America doesn't realize the troubled conditions in 
Europe. The suddenness of the whole thing was not real- 
ized. The main trouble was to get money, but the only thing 
worth while in Europe was gold." 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 299 

Mrs. Walter Haynes, wife of a lawyer, waited eleven 
hours in Paris for food and fainted away during the interval. 

Miss Edna Aug said that when the first regiments 
marched through the Rue de la Paix the hundreds of models 
appeared on the balconies of Paquin's and strewed roses 
and geraniums on the soldiers. 

Similar stories were told when the American liner New 
York arrived. Here are some of them: 

Miss Margaret G. Konkle, a very pretty girl, landed 
without her trunk. She had paid $155 for passage on the 
Imperator. She managed to get away from Paris, but her 
trunk didn't follow her to Cherbourg. She came aboard with 
only a little handbag. The stewardesses made up for her 
lack of wardrobe. Miss Konkle didn't have to pay any duty 
yesterday, which was some consolation. 

Francis De Vere, a stock broker, said many Americans 
still were in Paris by their own fault. They had been warned 
in time. 

"Some Americans who do not read or speak French," 
said Mr. De Vere, "did not wake up to what was going on 
for two or three days. They were making plans to go fur- 
ther into Europe while the embroiling was growing worse. 
Friday night, July 31st, was an anxious night. We didn't 
know whether the New York would come in at Cherbourg 
or not." 

Three weeks ago the broker was in Budapest. 

"There is a Greek church on the outskirts oi* Budapest, 
which had always borne a good reputation," said he. "The 
police arrested the priest on some evidence and his church 
was found packed full of bombs. The priest was in league 
with the Servians. 



300 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

CALLED CROWN PRINCE BOMB TUTOR 

"Government detectives of Austria-Hungary say they 
learned that the Crown Prince of Servia conducted a regular 
school in which the curriculum was bomb making and bomb 
throwing. 

"A conversation with a cabman shows the earnestness and 
tenseness in Budapest. I asked if he would take me pleasure 
riding. 'No, sir,' he replied, 'but if you wish to go to a 
railway station or a hotel I will take you.' " 

Col. H. J. Gross, formerly in command of the First 
Light Infantry of Providence, It. I., and his wife left Paris 
Friday night, July 31st. 

"I beat the war announcement by five hours," said Colo- 
nel Gross. "On Saturday morning, August 1st, I learned 
that Paris had closed all its banks. You could not buy a 
meal. I had only fifty-franc notes, but nobody would change 
them." 

Colonel and Mrs. Gross tried successively to get home on 
the Imperator, La Provence and the Potsdam, finally man- 
aging to get on the New York. He had an upper berth in a 
four-bunk stateroom and a similar berth was found for Mrs. 
Gross in a stateroom with three other women. 

July 14th — the anniversary of the fall of the Bastile — 
Colonel Gross witnessed a review of 50,000 French troops. 
"They were the finest disciplined body of men I ever saw," 
said he. "If they can fight as well as they can manoeuver, 
they are all right." 

The Rev. Harvey K. Heigner of Philadelphia, who 
arrived on the New York, had gone through Germany 



Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 301 

after visiting Egypt and the Orient. He was two days in 
Berlin, leaving a few days before the trains stopped running 
and commercial traffic was paralyzed. 

saw Berlin's wae fire kindled 

"Berlin was very enthusiastic," said the clergyman. "On 
the Sunday night before the declaration of war twenty bands 
of music, at the head of many processions, paraded through 
the streets until 2 o'clock in the morning. In the processions 
were university professors, students, business men and even 
women. As they marched they sang 'Germany Over Every- 
thing.' 

"Unter den Linden was strewn with handbills and bulle- 
tins, struck off by the newspapers. Placards were every- 
where. Crowds marched and countermarched past the Rus- 
sian Embassy, singing jeeringly. A squad of cavalry was 
sent from the palace to guard the embassy, and the police 
quelled the rioting. 

"German soldiers in civilian life knew just where to go, 
at just what division to report. All they had to do was to 
get into their uniforms. 

"Harvests were ripe all through Germany. Women 
predominated in the fields. The greatest surprise to me is 
the suddenness with which it all clapped down. 

"In Dresden you could not get a meal until you showed 
money." 

Dr. J. D. McGowan of Chicago, accompanied by his 
wife, had attended the Surgeons' Congress. He found con- 
ditions getting hot in London and decided to get out. He 
said he saw the Coldstream Guards march into the Tower of 



302 Americans Abroad at Outbreak of War 

London, drop their bearskins on the floor and get into their 
khaki. Every soldier he saw was in his fighting uniform. 

"We could not cash our American Express Company- 
checks," said the doctor, "and I understand Londoners 
charged 33 1-3 per cent for cashing American drafts. We 
didn't hear anything but war talk." 

Dr. John R. Pennington of Chicago, a passenger on the 
New York, said 900 American surgeons were delayed in 
London. All have patients to whom they promised to return 
immediately. 

Mrs. H. P. Martin of Red Bank, N. J., with her six- 
months-old babe, arrived at the American Relief Committee 
headquarters in London on August 20th after a trying trip. 
They started from Magdeburg, Germany, August 2d, with 
Mr. Martin, but he became separated from them as a crowd 
of foreigners was forced into a train. Mrs. Martin protested 
that she could not go alone, but the officers told her her 
husband was in another car. 

Mrs. Martin, who was only nineteen years old and unused 
to traveling, reached Berlin August 4th, where she found 
her husband was not on the train. By degrees she made her 
way to Holland and reached London almost penniless. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

FIRST SEA BATTLE OF THE WAR 

English, Under Screen of Heavy Fog, Enter the Bight of 
Heligoland and Lure German Ships from Their Base — 
Two of the Kaiser's Cruisers Sunk, One Set Afire and 
Two Torpedo Boats Are Destroyed — Sir David Beatty, 
Who Married a Daughter of America's Merchant Prince, 
Marshall Field, in Command of the Victorious British 
Squadron} — English Rescue German Sailors — German 
Official Report, 

THE first important naval battle of the war was fought on 
a foggy morning, August 28, before daybreak, in the 
bight, or bay, of Heligoland, a large German island in the 
North Sea. 

All the details of the battle were suppressed by the censor 
but a bulletin flashed on the screen at the London theatres, 
"The British fleet has assumed the aggressive," was enough 
to set the audience wild. This excitement soon spread to the 
streets and London, which had remained taciturn and stern 
under reports of repeated German and Austrian successes 
on land, indulged in an orgy of self-glorification over the 
long expected news of a victory of the fleet. 

The Prussian tradition of the invincibility of its arms 
had its counterpart in the belief in England that the Eng- 
lish fleet could not be conquered. 

303 



304 First Sea Battle of the War 

A censorship which had kept secret the movements of 
every vessel in the British navy had whetted the anxiety 
which it was intended to allay until the people were in a state 
of mind when the smallest glimmering of good news was 
magnified into the news of a "glorious victory." London 
was quite prepared therefore to read in the morning papers 
of August 29 such announcements as this: 

"A glorious victory has fallen to the British fleet. With' 
all the courage and fearless enterprise that distinguished our, 
old officers, who many a time went into the very jaws of the 
enemy, Rear Admirals David Beatty, A. N. Christian, and 
Sir Arthur G. W. Moore have conducted a combined opera-, 
tion in the Bight of Heligoland, where the enemy had all 
his strength at his command. The triumph was complete." 

It was announced officially that the British fleet had 
"sunk two German cruisers and two German torpedo boats 
off Heligoland." And it was added that a third German 
cruiser had been set afire and left sinking. 

The newspaper version was that the German light cruisers 
Mainz and another of the Koeln class "and a third whose 
name was unknown had been destroyed, as well as two 
destroyers." 

It appeared that a concerted attack had been planned — 
"just as our old seamen would have planned it," the exultant 
press continued, "to begin in dark and reach its decisive 
point at dawn. The attacking force was organic." 

A less technical but more intelligible account was brought 
in by a wounded English sailor, landed at Harwich a day or 
so later. According to this sailor, the British fleet had bot- 
tled up the German fleet in the bight of Heligoland and the 
estuary of the Elbe and was standing by prepared to give 
the Germans battle when they should venture out. 



First Sea Battle of the War 305 

"fishing with live bait" 

The British took advantage of the fog on the night of 
August 27-28 to send one of the smaller craft in close to the 
Germans with the object of luring the latter out. The sailor 
described this maneuver as "fishing with live bait," the 
smaller craft being the bait. The sailorman said that he 
didn't find the experience agreeable, as he was under fire of 
the enemy all the time at short range and without the oppor- 
tunity to "talk back." 

However, the ruse was successful. The Germans fol- 
lowed the "bait" out of their hiding quarters until they came 
within range of the main British fleet, concealed by the fog. 
When it was too late to escape they found themselves under 
the fire of a superior force and, by all accounts, suffered 
severely. 

The British fleet engaged consisted of the first battle 
cruiser squadron, the light cruiser squadrons and the de- 
stroyer and submarine flotillas. 

The British fighting was distinguished by great accuracy 
of fire and the chief praise was awarded to Rear Admiral Sir 
David Beatty, the youngest flag officer afloat, a sailor in 
whom Americans felt a peculiar interest because of his Amer- 
ican wife. He married in 1901 the daughter of the late 
Marshall Field of Chicago. 

Rear Admiral Beatty commanded the first battle cruiser 
squadron, comprising the Lion ( flagship ) , the Queen Mary, 
the Princess Royal and the New Zealand. He conducted 
the operation already described under the direction of Sir 
John Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief. Jellicoe was a great 
favorite of the navy and of the English people. He was 



306 First Sea Battle of the War 

one of the smallest men wearing the uniform and in his 
younger days was the champion lightweight of the navy, 
having "put it all over" all contenders in the fleet, without 
regard to rank. 

Complete as was their victory the British appear to have 
suffered little loss of life or damage to their ships. All the 
latter emerged from the engagement afloat and "in good 
order." "Not a German cruiser excaped," said the English 
accounts, "and the destroyers fled wildly for shelter, having 
had two of their number sunk." 

"It was a bold thing to do," continued the English stories, 
"to go into the Heligoland bight, but our officers had meas- 
ured the risk and their enterprise was justified. Many times 
did our young officers in the old wars go close to the enemy's 
forts and cut off his coastwise shipping. The new race is 
evidently the equal of the old." 

ENGLISH RESCUED GERMANS FROM SINKING SHIPS 

The loss of life must remain a matter of conjecture un- 
til the seas' shall give up its dead. The three German cruis- 
ers and two destroyers which were sunk would have had or- 
dinarily complements amounting to 1,500 officers and men. 
The Liverpool brought into Harwich as prisoners nine Ger- 
man officers and eighty-one men who had been rescued by 
their conquerors from the sea. Many of these were wounded. 

Herein is seen one of the few humane elements of war- 
fare. The German official account of the battle, published 
four days later, paid this tribute to the English: "It must 
be admitted that the British without stopping to consider 
their own danger sent out lifeboats to save our men." 



First Sea Battle of the War 307 

Here is the carefully guarded official report of the Ger- 
nan imperial government on the same engagement. It 
hould be read if only to show how differently the same set 
>f facts may be made to appear from different angles : 

GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORT 

"During a fog a German torpedo boat was unexpectedly 
ittacked on all sides by British torpedo boat destroyers and 
ubmarines. She defended herself with all her might, but 
harp firing at close range reduced her moving capacity so 
hat there was no possibility of her escaping from the enemy's 
ire. 

"The vessel turned on her enemies determined to fight 
ler passage out or engage them in battle to the end. When 
he was no longer able to move she was blown up to prevent 
ler falling into the hands of the enemy. She sank quickly. 

"The Chief of the Flotilla Captain Gorvette Wallis and 
Captain-Lieutenant Techier, died like heroes. 

"It must be admitted that the British, without stopping 
o consider their own danger, sent out lifeboats to save our 
aen. 

"Summoned by the thunder of the guns the small cruiser 
\j-iadne rushed to the assistance of the V 187. The guns 
neanwhile were silenced, but retreat was not in accordance 
vith the fighting spirit of the German navy, and the Ariadne 
>egan to pursue the enemy, whose vessels, however, were 
lidden in the fog. 

"Suddenly new gun firing was heard, and two English 
irmored cruisers of the Lion class were bombarding the 
jerman vessel, to whose assistance the Ariadne was hurry- 



308 First Sea Battle of the War 

ing. A shell struck the Ariadne's boiler room and put halii 
of her boilers out of action and reduced her speed to sixteen 
miles. 

"The unequal battle raged for another half an hour. 
The ship's stern was ablaze, but her other guns continuedi 
to fire. The enemy meantime turned toward the west, butt 
the brave Ariadne was doomed to destruction, and with threej 
hurrahs for the Kaiser and singing 'Germany above all! 
Above All' the ship was abandoned in perfect order and! 
sank. 

"The chief officer, the doctor, the officer of the watch, and> 
about seventy members of the crew were among the fallen. 
Many were injured." 

KAISER WILHELM DER GROSSE SUNK BY BRITISH CRUISER 

HIGHFLYER 

Winston Spencer Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, 
announced in the British House of Commons on August 27 
that the North German Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm 
der Grosse, recently converted into a cruiser, had been sunk 
by a British cruiser. Mr. Churchill said: 

"The Admiralty has just received intelligence that the 
German armed merchant cruiser Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, 
of 14,000 tons, and armed with ten 4-inch guns, has been 
sunk by H. M. S. Highflyer off the west coast of Africa. 

"This is the vessel which has been interfering with traffic 
between this country and the cape and is one of the very few 
German armed auxiliary cruisers that succeeded in getting _ 
to sea. The survivors were landed before the vessel sank. 
The Highflyer had one killed and five wounded." 



First Sea Battle of the War 309 

The Admiralty sent this despatch to the commander of 
the cruiser Highflyer this afternoon : 

"Bravo ! You have rendered a service not only to Great 
Britain but to the peaceful commerce of the world. The 
German officers and men appear to have carried out their 
duties with humanity and restraint and therefore are worthy 
of seamanlike consideration." 

The destruction of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse caused 
an immediate drop of 25 per cent in Lloyds premiums on 
vessels for South Africa and South America. 

At the time of her launching in 1897 the Kaiser Wilhelm 
der Grosse was the largest ship in the world, and for a time 
also was the fastest, holding the north Atlantic records until 
the Hamburg- American's Deutschland and then the fleet 
Cunarders took them from her. She cost $4,000,000 to build. 
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was 648 feet long, with a 
displacement of 20,000 tons. She was built under the re- 
quirements of the imperial navy for use as a cruiser in time 
of war and had eighteen watertight compartments. 

It was on the deck of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse 
that Mayor Gaynor of New York was shot by James J. 
Gallagher as he was about to sail for Europe. 

The Highflyer is a light cruiser of 5,600 tons displace- 
ment, lightly armored and carrying eleven 6-inch guns as 
her primary battery. She was completed in 1898. 

THE BRITISH ACCOUNT 

The British losses in the naval battle off Heligoland were 
two officers an rl fT - enty-seven men killed and forty wounded. 
The officii 1 it said that of the 1.200 men composing 



310 First Sea Battle of the War 

the crews of the German warships sunk in the action only 
330 survived, and that five German vessels were known to 
have been sunk. 

THE LAUREL'S BRAVE FIGHT 

The most striking experience in the battle was that of 
the destroyer Laurel, which led the division of four destroyers 
sent ahead by the British fleet to lure the Germans out. 

When the destroyer division, led by the Laurel, turned 
about to face the oncoming German destroyers it not only 
found itself unsupported by the cruisers, but saw coming 
out of the haze the light cruisers of the enemy. 

Nothing daunted, the division opened fire. The Laurel, 
which was in an inside berth, had for some time to face the 
fire of one cruiser and two destroyers. The men engaged 
made light of the German marksmanship, declaring that 
they ought to have been sent speedily to the bottom. The 
first shell which hit the Laurel found its way to the engine 
room, killing four men. The second struck the forward gun, 
jamming the charge which was just about to be fired and 
killing three men. 

laurel's commander wounded 

The third shell to strike her wounded Commander Frank 
Rose seriously in the left leg, but though urged by his men 
to go below, he shifted his weight onto the other leg and 
continued to issue his orders as though nothing had happened. 

All this time the Laurel was making it uncomfortable for 
the two destroyers with which she was engaged, one of which 



First Sea Battle of the War 311 

shortly afterward went to the bottom, and giving as good as 
she was getting from the cruiser as well. 

A piece of the fourth shell struck the commander on the 
sound leg and brought him down on the bridge, but he still 
declined to give way, though his signal man insisted on tear- 
ing off his trousers to prevent his wounds from being 
poisoned. He continued to fight his ship until he lost con- 
sciousness, just after he had learned that they had managed 
to extract the charge from the damaged gun. 

As he lay unconscious on the bridge one of the petty 
officers fastened tenderly a lifebelt round him, for by this 
time only three rounds of ammunition remained, and though 
the British cruisers had appeared on the scene it appeared 
impossible that the Laurel could live much longer in the fire 
to which she was exposed. 

A final shell struck her amidships, enveloping her in a 
dense cloud of dust and smoke, and all on board were certain 
that she was going to the bottom. That last shell, however, 
was to prove her salvation, for a dense cloud hung to her as 
she lay helpless on the water, and though it was split in all 
directions by the enemy's projectiles, not one succeeded in 
finding her. In the heart of it there was not the slightest 
flurry, though even the satisfaction of fighting had been 
taken from them. 

"Good-bye, old man," said a bluejacket, bleeding to death 
on the forecastle, to his mate, stretched on the deck beside 
him. 

"My time is up, too," replied the other, calmly, reaching 
out a hand to him, and with that handclasp they died. 

The British destroyers exposed themselves to consider- 
able risk in endeavoring to save as many as possible of the 



312 First Sea Battle of the War 

drowning German sailors. British officers present vouch 
for the fact that German officers were observed firing with 
pistols at their own men in the water and that several were 
shot before their eyes. 

Under these peculiar circumstances one destroyer was 
actually picking up the wounded with her boats when she 
was driven off by the approach of another German cruiser 
and had to leave two of her boats containing one officer and 
nine men behind. It was feared that these had been made 
prisoners, but a submarine arrived and brought the British 
party home. 

As it was not possible to accommodate the thirty Ger- 
mans in the submarine they were allowed to return to Ger- 
many in a boat under the charge of a German lieutenant who 
was not wounded. The complements of the five German 
vessels known to have been sunk aggregated about 1,200 
officers and men, all of whom, with the exception of these 
thirty and about 300 wounded and unwounded prisoners, per- 
ished. Besides, there was a loss which must have been severe 
on board the German torpedo boats and the other cruisers 
which did not sink during action. 

The total British casualties amounted to sixty-nine killed 
and wounded, among whom, however, must be included in 
the killed two officers of exceptional merit, Lieut. Com- 
mander Nigel K. W. Barttelot and Lieut. Eric W. P. 
Westacott. 

GRAND FIGHT OF DESTROYERS 

The destroyers Liberty and Laertes fought a grand fight. 
A shell brought down the mast of the Liberty. The Laertes 



First Sea Battle of the War 



313 



was hit amidships, a hole was shot through her funnel, her 
forward guns were damaged, and she also received a shell in 
the dynamo room and a shot aft, which wrecked her cabin. 

It was hot work, but at that moment the British light 
cruisers and battle cruisers appeared. It was the moment 
for which they had been siting, and their execution was 
deadly. The first shot from one of the British battle cruisers 
sank a German cruiser which had been battering a destroyer. 

The German fleet then turned and fled in the direction 
of Cuxhaven. 




DOUBLE LINE OF FORTS FOR THE DEFENCE OF ANTWERP 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

BOMB ATTACK BY A ZEPPELIN 

Night of Horror In Belgian Capital When a Monster Air- 
ship Dropped Bombs On a Sleeping City — Story of An 
Eyewitness Who Heard and Saw the Great German Air- 
ship — How An Aeroplane Directed Artillery Where To 
Place Shells — Other Thrilling Experiences. 

NIGHT OF HORROR AT ANTWERP 

A CORRESPONDENT who was in Antwerp, Belgium, 
the night that a German dirigible passed over the city 
dropping explosive bombs as it went, sent the following 
thrilling description of an incident unique in war : 

"At 1 o'clock this morning death came to Antwerp out 
of the air. In my room in the Hotel St. Antoine, on an up- 
per floor overlooking the General Staff headquarters, I had 
just extinguished the light when a curious humming in the 
air, like the sound of a million bumblebees, drew me to the 
window. A thousand feet above me hovered an indistinct 
mass, which slowly resolved itself into the appearance of a 
gigantic black cigar, silhouetted against the purple sky. It 
was a German dirigible Zeppelin, and sounded, when closer, 
like an automobile with the muffier open. 

"As I looked, something resembling a falling star curved 
across the sky, and, an instant later, there came a rending, 

315 



316 Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 

shattering crash that shook the hotel to its foundations. 

"Only then did I realize that death was being rained upon 
the sleeping city from the sky. The first projectile com- 
pletely demolished a building two hundred yards from my 
window. Thirty seconds later there came another crash, and 
another and yet another, until ten in all had happened. Ac- 
companied by four Cabinet Ministers and five heads of lega- 
tions, all in our pajamas, I ascended to the hotel roof. 

"Belgian high angle and machine guns now were stabbing 
the darkness with spurts of flame, and the rattle of musketry 
was deafening, but they were unable to hit the Zeppelin, 
which disappeared in the upper darkness. The destruction 
caused by the projectiles was incredible, in both extent and 
horror. 

Capt. Williams of the United States Coast Artillery, who 
was here with money supplies from the cruiser Tennessee, re- 
ported that the projectiles used were some form of shrapnel, 
with a terrible new explosive and fired from a gun. One 
shell struck in the middle of the public weighing square. 
A policeman in the square was blown to pieces and six per- 
sons sleeping in adjacent houses were killed in their beds. 
Every building facing the square was partially or completely 
demolished and every house within a radius of a block in 
every direction was riddled like a sieve. 

"Another shell burst on the roof of a physician's house, 
in the Rue Escrimes, killing two maids who were asleep up- 
stairs. One shell fell in a garden in the Rue Dubarry, wound- 
ing terribly a man and his wife. Another shell fell in the 
barracks in the Rue Falcon, killing one and wounding two in- 
mates. Fortunately the regiment stationed there had just 
left. 



Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 317 

"A child was mangled in a fashionable residence in the 
Rue de la Justice. A policeman in the public square had both 
his legs blown off. The quarter-inch thick steel gates of the 
Rue Lausanne were perforated like cardboard. 

"The authorities believed that a deliberate attempt was 
made to kill the royal family, the General Staff and the Cab- 
inet, and to destroy the hospitals, banks and barracks. 

"The accuracy with which the bombs were dropped sug- 
gested that the Germans had confederates displaying signals 
throughout the city. In all, ten were killed, including six 
women, and probably thirty were wounded. 

"The authorities mounted searchlights and high angle 
guns everywhere." 

GOOD-BY! MR. FLYING MAN 

Many stories were told of the uncomplaining heroism of 
the troops engaged about Mons. A number of the British 
wounded were brought across the border to Rouen. They 
belonged to divisions that had borne the brunt of the Ger- 
man attack. They had had to take the field immediately 
after they arrived at Mons. In fact, they only arrived just 
in time to stem the German onrush. For days they had been 
travelling and marching and they needed repose. In spite 
of this they behaved like fresh troops and held their ground 
magnificently, winning warm praise from the French com- 
mander. 

"On the whole it seemed they suffered far less than the 
French. A good many of them were merely broken down 
with the hard marching. 



318 Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 

"One man said : 

" 'We marched into Mons on Sunday at 10 o'clock and 
were just going to be billeted when we were ordered to fall 
in again and get a move on. We wanted to rest. We had 
been marching since 4 o'clock and hadn't had our boots off! 
since we left home. I haven't had mine off yet. 

" 'It had been blazing hot and the ninety-six pound loads 
on our backs made us wish for cloudy old England. 

" 'Still we were wanted. We knew that or they wouldn't 
have sent for us, so we jumped off again to these trenches. 
The German artillery over a range two or three miles off soon 
opened on us. Fortunately most of the shells burst behind 
us and did no harm. Some burst backward and got among 
us. They kept it up as hard as ever when it was dark. 

" 'In the daytime they had aeroplanes to tell them where 
to drop the shells. They were flying about all the time. One 
came a bit too near. Our gunners a long way behind waited 
and let him come. Two thousand feet up, he was, I dare say. 
All of a sudden the gunners let fly. We could see the thing 
stagger and then good-by, Mr. Flying Man! He dropped 
like a stone, all crumpled up.' " 

AEROPLANE GUIDED FIGHTERS 

The London Times of August 27 printed a despatch 
from Paris describing the part an aeroplane played in the 
artillery battle about Mons. This machine, a biplane, the 
correspondent said, capable of cutting down its speed to a 
low rate, hovered at a safe height over the Franco-British 
artillery position, and actually directed the fire of the Ger- 
man gunners. 



Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 319 

Its observer watched the effect of the shells fired by the 
Germans. Then, by means of a large disk which was swung 
at the end of a line and could be raised and lowered at will, 
he signalled as need be in code: "Higher — lower — right — 
left" and thus guided the gunners (who naturally could not 
see their mark or the effect of their fire) until they were mak- 
ing hits at almost every shot and creating great havoc. 

The second story described the manner in which bombs are 
fired from the Zeppelin dirigibles by an ingenious arrange- 
ment which makes the airship itself comparatively safe from 
harm and at the same time renders the aim of its bombman 
much more accurate. 

The refugee said that the immense airship came to a stop 
— or as near a stop as possible — above the city or fortification 
it wished to attack, at a height out of range of either artillery 
or rifle fire. 

Then, by means of a steel wire rope 2,000 or 3,000 feet 
long it lowered from one end a small wire cage, just large 
enough to contain one man and a supply of bombs. This 
cage was so fortified with steel netting that rifle fire against 
it was ineffective. At the same time it was so tiny a mark 
that artillery could not be pointed with sufficient accuracy 
to hit it. 

And if it should happen to be struck, of course, the air- 
ship proper would be safe, only one man would be lost, and 
besides, when he fell, his supply of bombs (unless they were 
exploded in midair by the shot) would fall with him. 

The Zeppelin, presumably equipped with at least two 
cages and cables, might at once lower another bombfirer. 



320 Bomb Attach by a Zeppelin 

PREFERRED TO FIGHT BAREFOOT 

A trainload of wounded Senegalese riflemen returned 
from the front to Paris, August 27, and the following story 
was told by one of the wounded Africans of the capture of 
a machine gun by eighteen. 

The Senegalese did not appear to mind their wounds 
and many of them were contentedly smoking long porcelain 
German pipes on their arrival. They had taken the pipes 
from the Germans. The one thing the Senegalese com- 
plained of was being compelled to wear shoes while fight- 
ing. Before going into action at Charleroi they are said 
to have thrown away their shoes. They came back wearing 
German shoes, so that they would not be punished for los- 
ing a part of their equipment. 

A HERO UP A TELEGRAPH POLE 

Here is a story of a heroic Belgian up a telegraph pole 
told by the correspondent of the London Chronicle : 

At 5 o'clock the town of Ostend was aroused by the 
sound of heavy firing, coming from the direction of LefTinnhe, 
about four miles to the southwest, where there was a sharp 
fight when a body of Belgian gendarmerie, numbering 150, 
bravely attacked a superior Uhlan force which had ap- 
proached on the Bruges Road. 

The two opposing forces came into contact at daybreak. 
The Uhlans, who had passed the night in a wood, had come 
out to resume their march. Some minutes later they came 
under a sharp fire, directed upon them from the concealed 
force. The Uhlan cavalry was preceded by a body of cyclist 



Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 321 

scouts, and the latter were the first victims of the Belgian 
rifle fire. 

Thrown temporarily into confusion by well-directed vol- 
leys, the Uhlans took to the shelter of the woods and re- 
turned the fire of the Belgians. The latter, believing the 
Uhlan retirement heralded a rout, left their concealment 
and started in pursuit. They at once came under the fire of 
the dismounted Uhlans, who were assisted by machine guns, 
which they had mounted on automobiles. 

In this second phase of the fight the Belgians had several 
of their number killed and wounded. They, however, fell 
back in tolerably good order, and for about an hour shots 
were exchanged from behind cover. Four machine guns were 
dispatched to the aid of the defenders of Ostend, and their 
firing could be distinctly heard in the freshly awakened 
city. 

Some difficulty was experienced by the Belgians in dis- 
covering the exact whereabouts of the enemy, but a gendarme 
who climbed a telegraph post was able to obtain a clear view 
of the enemy, and with a flag directed his comrades' fire. He 
was however, speedily discovered by the Germans, who fired 
several volleys at him. Nevertheless, he remained in his dan- 
gerous position until German bullets in his leg and arm 
brought him down. 

DEATH RATHER THAN SURRENDER 

An official statement issued by the French government 
contained this story of desperate bravery of the siege of 
Liege : 

Fort Chaudefontaine has been the scene of an act of 



322 Bomb Attack by a Zeppelin 

heroism which affirms once more the brilliant valor of the 
Belgian Army. The fort, which commands the railroad to 
Aix-la-Chapelle, by Verviers and the tunnel to Chaudefon- 
taine, was subjected to a continual and extremely violent 
bombardment. 

When it was reduced to a mere heap of ruins and Major 
Nameche, the commanding officer, judged that further re- 
sistance was impossible, he blocked up the tunnel by running 
several locomotives into each other, and set fire to the fuses 
leading to the mines surrounding the forts. 

His mission then accomplished, Major Nameche, deter- 
mined that the German flag should not fly even over the ruins 
of his fort, blew up the powder magazine and perished. 

HOTEL MAN SHOT AS SPY 

A New York hotel man had an experience in Paris show- 
ing how closely the French kept watch for spies. A bellboy 
in the hotel where the New York man was staying reported 
to the gendarmes that he had seen the manager of the hotel 
sitting in a little house, on the roof, with telephone receivers 
to his ears. The gendarmes invaded the hotel and seized the 
manager. 

On the roof they found a complete wireless receiving ap- 
paratus and more than 250 sheets of German script record- 
ing messages sent out from the Eiffel Tower station. The 
manager was shot as a spy. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

THE DEFENCE OF LIEGE 

The Defence of Belgium — The Liege Forts — The Siege of 
Liege — Heavy Losses on Both Sides — The Belgian Com- 
mander — Honor to the Brave — Reprisals for the Delay. 

WHEN" Kaiser Wilhelm decided to invade France he 
chose the route through Belgium, up the valley of the 
River Meuse, as the shortest road to Paris. 

True, Belgium was neutral territory and no party to the 
Kaiser's quarrel with France or England. But, as the Im- 
perial Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg, pointed out, Ger- 
many was willing to reimburse Belgium for any incon- 
venience and loss she might sustain. If she would open her 
gates and stand aside while the Germans rushed through on 
their way to the French frontier she would have ample in- 
demnity, in cash or otherwise. Else; if she opposed the 
march of the Kaiser's armies, it was intimated that she must 
expect the harsh treatment of an enemy. 

There is no reason to doubt that the Kaiser counted on 
the speedy acquiescence of Belgium in his demands. In the 
German chancellery it does not seem to have been considered 
possible that the temerity of little Belgium would rise to the 
height of opposing the will of mighty Germany. The war- 
lords of Berlin evidently counted on a swift and easy passage 
through a friendly or at least not hostile territory and there- 

323 



324 The Defence of Liege 

after a swift descent upon Paris, on the one hand and the 
coast of the English channel on the other, within easy sti Ik- 
ing distance of England, on the other. 

This should be accomplished, it was reckoned, in time for 
the Germans to turn and meet the tide of Russian invaders 
on their Eastern frontier, slow of mobilization and tardily- 
transported by the single tracked railroads of the Czar's 
domain. 

The key to this plan was, of course, the acquiescence of 
[Belgium. 

But Belgium did not acquiesce in the Kaiser's demands. 
On the contrary the smaller country put up a defence which 
stayed the Kaiser's progress, cost him thousands of men, 
millions of treasure and undoubtedly resulted in a revision of 
the campaign plans so confidently made in Berlin. 

THE DEFENCE OF BELGIUM 

The defence of Belgium by the Belgians, before the 
French or English allies had time to come to their rescue is a 
story of desperate heroism which stands out in all the annals 
of war. It begins virtually with the siege of the town of 
Liege. The Germans crossed the border at Stavelot, Franco- 
champs and Verviers and in the first week of the war concen- 
trated before Liege, at the junction of the Meuse and the 
Ourthe. 

Both are navigable rivers and at this point railroads cen- 
ter which lead to all parts of the kingdom and to the coast 
city of Antwerp. The town itself (it had 171,000 popula- 
tion in 1910) was built on level ground in the valleys of the 
river, surrounded by mountains, or considerable hills, and on 



The Defence of Liege 325 

the summits of these were built the fortifications which com- 
manded all the approaches by land or water. 

Underneath the mountain tops are rich mines of coal and 
iron and this natural wealth, together with the facilities for 
transportation made Liege a center of manufacturing, par- 
ticularly of the iron and steel industries. It has been called 
the "Pittsburgh of Belgium" and undoubtedly deserved that 
appellation, in addition to being the seat of many manufac- 
tures such as Pittsburgh does not possess. There were made 
most of the firearms for which Belgium is famous and there 
were textile industries as in all the Belgian cities. 

Readers of Sir Walter Scott's novels will recall the de- 
scription in "Quentin Durward" of the industrious and 
thrifty Ligeois and their stubborn devotion to their rights. 
More than once during the last four hundred years the city 
had been under siege and its walls invaded by the enemy. 

THE LIEGE FORTS 

But the modern fortifications, those which confronted the 
German forces when they poured down the valley of the 
Meuse, were of very recent construction. General Brial- 
mont, called by some the foremost military engineer of mod- 
ern times, was placed in charge of the work, when in 1888 
the Beligans decided to fortify Liege and Namur so as to 
make them as far as might be impregnable. At Liege, Gen- 
eral Brialmont built twelve forts, six on either bank of the 
Meuse river and situated at a distance of from four to six 
miles apart. 

The forts are Barchon, Evegnee, Fleron, Chaudfontaine, 
Embourg and Boncelles, on the right bank of the Meuse, be- 



326 The Defence of Liege 

ginning at the north and following an eastern curve, and 
Pontisse, Liers, Lantin, Loncin, Hollogne and Flemaille on 
the left bank and following a western curve. These forts 
thus virtually surrounded the city and bore a close re- 
semblance to the formidable defences of Bucharest. 

As the Germans advanced toward Liege from the east, 
the people were urged by the burgomaster to move to the 
western side of the river. When this had been done the Bel- 
gians blew up the bridges. 

The Germans continued to come on, in spite of the vigor- 
ous opposition from the forts on the east side of the river. 
The population were panic stricken and as many as could, 
rushed to the railway station and entrained for Brussels and 
Ostend. The burgomaster beseeched General Leman, who 
was in command of the defences, to surrender. The General 
refused to do so and gave fresh orders to the forts to redouble 
their vigilance. 

THE SIEGE OF LIEGE 

Then a messenger came from the German camp bearing 
a white flag of truce. He demanded that the city surrender 
under threat of a still heavier bombardment. 

Receiving an instant refusal, the messenger returned to 
his principal and within a short time the siege was renewed, 
as threatened, upon a heavier scale than before. 

The Germans fought with a bravery which even their 
enemies do not hesitate to praise. They approached the forts 
and came within range of the terribly effective guns of the 
Ligeois drawn up in solid formation. In consequence they 
were mowed down, in companies — in battalions — in regi- 
ments. Such recklessness on the part of a sane commander 



The Defence of Liege 327 

is to be explained only on the theory that he had endless re- 
serves at his disposal and was bent to win at whatever cost. 
On both counts, this appears to have been the truth. How 
many men were brought to bear in the siege of Liege and 
how many men were lost are questions which may never be 
answered. The accounts of opposing sides conflict. The 
French official report was that the Germans had lost 5,000 
men in one day. It was said also that the German force 
numbered, from first to last, fully 800,000 men. Both of 
these figures were denied in Berlin but no others were offered 
in their place. 

HEAVY LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES 

On the Belgian side the force was greatly smaller and the 
number killed correspondingly less. Fighting under cover 
of forts scientifically constructed they enjoyed an immunity 
which offset the superior numbers of the Germans. Their 
guns were mounted in concrete pits and covered by domes 
coated with nickel steel, from which the missiles of the Ger- 
man guns rebounded harmless. Most of the Belgian losses 
were incurred in sallies made by their cavalry. 

According to the official report made by the War Office 
at Paris, twenty-four German guns were captured and one 
general was made prisoner. The Belgian defenders num- 
bered 40,000. 

The Belgian fire was accurate and well placed, it was said 
and in proof it was cited that two heavy siege guns belonging 
to the Germans were destroyed. 

The three German army corps engaged in the siege were 
commanded by Generals von Pritzelwitz, von Einem and von 



328 The Defence of Liege 

Emmich, who was also in command of the Army of the 
Meuse. He was reported killed during the engagement and 
the report gained circulation that he had committed suicide 
out of chagrin at his failure to enter Liege without opposi- 
tion. This report was denied at Berlin. 

THE BELGIAN COMMANDER 

The commandant of the Belgian forces was General 
Leman. His defence of Liege was noble but tragic. Dur- 
ing the early attack his legs were crushed by the fall of a 
piece of concrete. Undaunted, he continued to direct his 
campaign, visiting the forts in an automobile ambulance. 

The commander of one of the forts, at the moment when 
the bombardment was heaviest, went mad and began shoot- 
ing his own men. He was disarmed and bound. The cupola 
of one of the forts was destroyed by a bomb from a Zeppelin. 
Fort Chaudfontaine was blown into oblivion by a German 
shell which dropped into the magazine. 

Finally General Leman decided to make his last stand 
in Fort Loncin. When the end became inevitable he de- 
stroyed the last gun and burned up the plans, maps, papers 
and food supplies. He was about to order all the men to the 
trenches when a shell buried him beneath a pile of debris. 
He was unconscious when the fort surrendered. 

The following incident was told to the reporter of a 
Dutch newspaper by a German officer : 

"When the first dust and fumes passed away we stormed 
the fort across ground liberally strewn with the bodies of the 
Belgian defenders. All the men in the forts were wounded. 
Most were unconscious. A corporal with one arm shattered 
valiantly tried to drive us back by firing his rifle. 



The Defence of Liege 329 

HONORS TO THE BRAVE 

"Buried beneath the debris and pinned down by a massive 
beam was General Leman. 'Le General, il est mort,' (the 
General is dead) said an aide-de-camp gently. With the 
utmost care, to show our respect for the man who had re- 
sisted us so valiantly and stubbornly, our infantry released 
the General's wounded form and carried him away. He 
recovered consciousness and said : 

" 'It is as it is. The men fought valiantly. Put it in your 
despatches that I was unconscious.' 

"We brought him to our commander, General von 
Emmich, and the two generals saluted. We tried to speak 
words of comfort but he was silent. He is known as the 
'Silent General.' Extending his hand, our General said: 

" 'General, you have gallantly and nobly held your forts.' 
General Leman replied : 

" 'I thank you; our troops have lived up to their reputa- 
tions.' With a smile he added : 'War is not like maneuvers.' 

"This was a reference to the fact that General von 
Emmich was recently with General Leman at the Belgian 
maneuvers. 

"Then, unbuckling his sword, General Leman tendered 
it to General von Emmich. 

" 'No,' replied the German commander with a bow, 'keep 
your sword. To have crossed swords with you is an honor.' 

"And the fire in General Leman's eye was dimmed by a 
tear." 

The fiercest fighting was done in the day time. The Ger- 
man infantry would advance under cover of a heavy artillery 
fire. The Belgian defenders would wait until the enemy was 



330 The Defence of Liege 

within close range when they would send in a hail of bullets 
from rifles and machine guns. After a short resistance the 
Germans would retire leaving their dead in heaps. This 
maneuver was repeated day after day. 

REPRISALS FOR THE DELAY 

Failing to reduce the forts around Liege, though they 
affected an entrance to the city, where, according to French 
and Belgian report, they committed horrible atrocities, the 
Germans "sidestepped" that locality and continued on their 
way toward the French territory by another route. Their 
disappointment was manifested by the imposition of a war 
levy of $10,000,000 on the city. 

By the time the Germans had passed Liege and, by slow 
degrees gained the French frontier, the French forces were 
mobilized and the British, having landed on the French coast, 
went to the rescue of the Belgians. Their united efforts were 
sufficient materially to delay the German advance ; insomuch 
that, as compared with the War of 1870, in which the Prus- 
sians were at the gates of Paris within a month after they 
passed the Alsatian frontier, the last day, first month of the 
War of 1914 found them still pounding at the doors of 
France, barely within a hundred miles of Paris. 

This delay, which disconcerted all the plans of the Kaiser, 
was largely due to the heroic defence of Liege. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

THRILLING WAR EXPERIENCES IN THE 

FIELD, IN THE CLOUDS AND ON 

THE SEA 

Belgian Officer Creates Havoc Among German Troops with 
His Armored Automobile — His Narrow Escape from 
Capture — Routing the Enemy — Sinking of the Koenigin 
Luise — British Cruiser Amphion Sunk by a Mine in the 
North Sea — German Submarine Destroyed by British — 
Austrians Walk Into Russian Trap — Gallantry of 
French Turcos — The Chase of the Goeben and Breslau 
— How Leaders Went To Their Deaths — Fights In the 
Clouds — Experiences of Antwerp As Bombs Fall On 
City — Escape of the Kronprinzessin Cecilie — Mauretania 
Dodges German Battleship. 

THE war of the nations was hardly under way when the 
reports of thrilling experiences on the battlefield, in the 
clouds and on the sea reached this country. Belgium was the 
theatre in which many of these dramatic incidents were 
staged but they were not confined to King Albert's domains. 
Nor were these experiences the lot of only the members of 
one nation. Even Americans had them. 

An automobile played a leading role in the experiences 
of Lieutenant Henkart of the Belgian army. He developed 
the art of hunting for German uhlans with an armorplated 

331 



332 Thrilling War Experiences 

motor car, carrying a mitrailleuse, or machine gun, to a fine: 
point. Lieutenant Henkart brought down scores of uhlans 
and other German soldiers who have crossed his path. His 
principal work was reconnoitering the enemy's position. He: 
had several narrow escapes from capture, and the body of 
his car showed hundreds of bullet marks which the armor 
plating had stopped. 

Lieutenant Henkart formerly was an officer in the Bel- 
gian Grenadiers, but had retired and was living the quiet 
existence of a country gentleman when the war broke out. 
He at once volunteered and was detailed to the General Staff. 
This is the report made of his exploits : 
On August 15 he started from the Belgian headquarters 
at Louvain in the direction of Durbuy. He discovered sev- 
eral defensive positions of the Germans on the rivers Am- 
bleve and Ourthe and succeeded in rescuing two French 
horsemen and killing five uhlans. He visited the battlefield 
of Haelen on August 16, the scene of the one hot and severe 
fight of the campaign till then and found defensive positions 
at Curange-Kermpt and Herck-la-ville. 

On August 17 Lieutenant Henkart went to Jauche, near 
Jodoigne, where he heard of the presence of twelve German 
cavalrymen. He followed up the scent but was caught in a 
trap and had considerable difficulty extricating himself. 

Eventually he killed seven uhlans and reconnoitered the 
German entrenchments. On August 18 he reconnoitered the 
German position at Perwez in Brabant. He met a party of 
German military cyclists and cavalry and killed twelve of 
them. 

On the following day he returned to Jodoigne, where the 
presence of two German officers was signalled. The lieu- 



Thrilling War Experiences 333 

tenant went in search of them but was again caught in a trap 
and had to run the gauntlet of a shower of bullets fired from 
houses at Jodoigne. His motorcar was scarred with bullets. 

The next day he went to Westerloo. This was the red 
letter day of his expedition. It almost ended in a fatality 
for the reconnoitering party, who found themselves suddenly 
confronted by two companies of cyclists and one squadron 
of cavalry. 

They numbered altogether about 450 men. It was too 
late to retreat, but fortunately the Germans did not realize 
the position and thought they faced an important Belgian 
force. The little mitrailleuse kept up its fire for an hour 
and a half, and as a result the Germans left twenty-five killed 
and a large number of wounded on the field before retiring. 

The next day Lieutenant Henkart went out to recon- 
noiter the German forces, which were moving toward Ant- 
werp. At Hofstade, near Malines, he met a party of thirty- 
four uhlans and killed twenty-one. Three other Germans 
were drowned and seven wounded, and of the latter five 
were brought back to Antwerp, where Lieutenant Henkart 
was warmly received. 

KOENIGIN LUISE GOES TO THE BOTTOM 

The destroyer Lance of the British navy, was the hero 
of the first naval engagement of the war. Firing only four 
shots, she sank the Hamburg- American liner Koenigin Luise, 
which had been fitted out as a mine ship and which was caught 
in the act of laying mines sixty miles from Harwich. The 
first shot destroyed the bridge of the Luise, and the others 
tore away her stern. The Luise sank in six minutes. The 



334 Thrilling War Experiences 

Lance rescued twenty-eight of the German crew, several of 
whom had been wounded. This was early in August, just 
before the British cruiser Amphion was sunk by a mine in 
the North Sea. The official report of the sinking of the 
Amphion follows : 

"A. trawler informed the vessel's officers that she had seen 
a suspicious ship throwing things overboard. Shortly after- 
ward the German minelayer Koenigin Luise was sighted 
steering east. Four destroyers gave chase and in about an 
hour s time she was rounded up and sunk. 

"After picking up the survivors of the German ship, the 
plan of search was carried out without incident until 3 30 in 
the morning. At that hour, as the Amphion on her return 
course was near the scene of the operations of the Koenigin 
-Luise, her course was altered to avoid the danger zone This 
was successful until 6.30 a. m., at which hour the Amphion 
struck a mine. 

"A sheet of flame instantly engulfed the bridge. The 
Captam was rendered insensible, and he fell to the fore and 
aft bridge. As soon as the Captain recovered consciousness, 
he rang the engineroom to stop the engines, which were still 
going at revolutions for 20 knots. As all the forward part 
of the Amphion was on fire, it was found impossible to reach 
the bridge or flood the fore magazine. 

"The ship's back appeared to be broken and she was 
already settling down by the bows. All efforts, therefore 
were directed to placing the wounded in places of safety in 
case of an explosion, and in getting the cruiser in tow by the 
stern. 

"By the time the destroyers had closed in, it was clearly 
time to abandon the ship. The men fell in for this purpose 



Thrilling War Experiences 335 

with the same composure that had marked their behavior 
throughout. All was done without hurry or confusion, and 
twenty minutes after the cruiser struck the mine, the men, 
the officers and lastly the Captain, had left the ship. 

"Three minutes after the Captain had left another ex- 
plosion occurred. This enveloped and blew up the entire 
fore part of the vessel. The effect of this showed the Ara- 
phion must have struck a second mine, which exploded the 
fore magazine. Debris falling from a great height struck 
the rescue boats and the destroyers, and one of the Amphion's 
shells burst on the deck of one of the destroyers, killing two 
Englishmen and one German prisoner. 

"Fifteen minutes later the Amphion sunk.' , 

GERMAN SUBMARINE DESTROYED 

The North Sea was the scene of another thrilling incident 
not many days later, when the German submarine U-15 was 
lost. The British cruiser squadron became aware of the 
approach of the submarine flotilla which was submerged, 
only the periscopes showing above the surface of the water. 

The British cruiser Birmingham, steaming at full speed, 
fired the first shot. This shot was carefully aimed, not at 
the submerged body of a submarine, but at the thin line of 
the periscope. 

The gunnery was accurate and shattered the periscope. 
Thereupon the submarine, now a blinded thing, rushed along 
under water in imminent danger of self-destruction from 
collision with the cruisers above. 

The sightless submarine was then forced to come to the 
surface, whereupon the Birmingham's gunner fired the sec- 



336 Thrilling War Experiences 

ond shot of the fight. This shot struck at the base of the 
conning tower, ripping the whole of the upper structure 
clean and the U-15 sank like a stone. 

RUSSIANS TRAP AUSTRIANS 

Russian Cossacks trapped two picked Austrian cavalry 
regiments about this time near Lemberg, an important city 
in Galicia. The Governor of Lublin prepared the trap that 
sent the Austrians to their deaths. 

Skirting the dense forest which lies between this section 
of Lublin and the Galician border, the Governor prepared 
a fiendish ambuscade for the Austrians. Heavy rains had 
caused an overflow of the river Wieprz, on which Bilgoray 
stands, and in consequence the whole countryside on the other 
side of the highway that marks the edge of the forest had 
been converted into a dense swamp. 

Toward evening the Austrians, returning from their 
predatory expedition, had to pass this spot, where the Lublin 
Governor had secreted his battery and Cossacks in the forest. 
The Austrian advance guard trotted past the scene of the 
ambush. Only a few peasants were to be seen, toiling late 
in the fields, by order of the Governor. 

As the main body of the Austrians reached the place 
where the Cossacks were waiting they suddenly found them- 
selves beset by a ferocious onslaught. The Cossacks dashed 
among them, and the Austrian men and horses dashed off 
into what seemed the open way — the fields facing the forest, 
where they had seen the peasants at work. 

By hundreds they leaped into the fatal marshes, and there, 
while their horses struggled as the soft ground engulfed 



Thrilling War Experiences 337 

them, the hidden battery, the Cossacks having withdrawn, 
opened fire upon them. Not an Austrian horse or man 
survived. 

CHARGE OF THE FRENCH TURCOS 

The experiences of the French Turcos, the native Afri- 
can troops, early in the war are worthy of note. They made 
many gallant charges. While the Germans were bombard- 
ing Charleroi the French made a sortie and were driven back 
by superior numbers. The bombardment continued until the 
Turcos, fretting under further inaction, debouched from the 
town and charged up to the German guns, bayonetting the 
gunners. Their loss in this wild charge under terrific artillery 
fire is said to have exceeded that of the Light Brigade at 
Balaclava. 

A RUNNING SEA FIGHT 

Wireless Operator Marsden, of the British cruiser Glou- 
cester, which pursued the German cruisers Goeben and Bres- 
lau among the Ionian Islands, in writing an account of the 
chase to his mother said : 

"The chase lasted four days and nights, during which our 
gunner indulged in some long range shots at the Breslau. 
After missing* the first shot at 11,000 yards, he spat on the 
second shell for luck and it went true, carrying away half of 
the Breslau's funnel. The gunner repeated the operation on 
the third shot, which cleared the Breslau's quarterdeck and 
put her after gun out of action. The cruiser fired thirty shots 



338 Thrilling War Experiences 

in return. Two of them smashed boats on the davits on the 
Gloucester's upper deck. The British ship narrowly escaped 
destruction from a torpedo fired by the Goeben." 

HOW LEADERS WENT TO THEIR DEATHS 

The common soldiers, who showed great bravery, had a 
fine example in their leaders. Gen. Otto von Emmich, in 
command of the German troops which assaulted Liege, laid 
down his life early in the struggle. He fell mortally wounded 
while leading a charge on one of the forts. He was sixty-six 
years old. He joined the army as a volunteer in 1866 and 
was promoted two years later to a lieutenancy. He took part 
in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-71. Afterward he was 
promoted through all the grades until he became Major 
General in 1901. When he was appointed to the command 
of the Tenth Army Corps he was made a general. 

Lieutenant General Prince Frederick of Saxe-Meinin- 
gen, one of the most important officers in the German army, 
was killed by a shell before ISTamur late in August. Prince 
Frederick of Saxe-Meningen was born in 1861. He was the 
third son of George, the late reigning Duke of Saxe-Meinin- 
gen. He married in 1889 Adelaide, Princess of Lippe, and 
had six children. 

Prince Ernest of Saxe-Meiningen was seriously wounded 
a few days later. Prince Ernest was the second son of Prince 
Frederick of Saxe-Meiningen, who was killed at Namur. 
He was in his nineteenth year and a lieutenant in the Sixth 
Thuringian Infantry Regiment. An elder brother, Prince 
George, was a lieutenant in the same regiment. They were 
cousins of the reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. 



Thrilling War Experiences 339 

Prince Frederick William of Lippe died in the fighting 
before Liege in a dramatic manner. The Prince's infantry 
regiment was surrounded by the Belgians under the walls of 
Liege, and he was struck by two bullets while standing among 
his men. The bullets took effect in his neck and chest, and 
he died immediately. 

EXPERIENCES IN THE CLOUDS 

The activities of aeroplanes were productive of many 
thrilling incidents. Early in the war Roland Garros, a 
French aviator, sacrificed his own life when he dashed his 
airship against a German military dirigible that had crossed 
the border near Nancy. The dirigible contained twenty-five 
men, and all were said to have been dashed to death. Ger- 
man and French aviators met in the air during the engage- 
ment at Longwy and the Frenchman shot the German, 
who fell 300 feet and was killed. 

An eyewitness of an exciting aeroplane chase near Namur 
told the following: 

"A German monoplane which for three days has per- 
sistently reconnoitered the positions of the Belgians was ob- 
served just before sunset hovering over an important forti- 
fied place on the banks of the River Meuse. 

"Two Belgian biplanes put upward immediately and gave 
chase to the enemy's aerial scout. It was some time before 
the Kaiser's aviator discovered that he was being pursued. 
When he did he turned about and flew at full speed toward 
Huy and Liege. 

"One of the Belgian airmen, by strategic manoeuvring 
managed to get high above the German. He was still above 



340 Thrilling War Experiences 

him and close upon him when darkness fell, leaving the result 
of the pursuit, so far as I could tell, undecided." 

Belgian military aviators who were active in the fighting 
around Liege had this to say of an experience on August 6 : 

"On Thursday morning we rose at 7 o'clock to a height! 
from which we could see the German artillery, backed by 
constantly increasing forces of infantry, firing at the Belgian 
forts. Because of the high wind we could not get up above: 
the clouds and our machine made an attractive target for the 
invaders, who immediately opened fire upon us as we ap- 
proached their position. 

"We wheeled about and started back for our own terri- 
tory, when to our dismay the outer forts of Liege — not! 
knowing who we were — also let go their shots at us. 

"We went through a terrible ordeal. Shrapnel burst to 
the right and left of us and under us. The wings were 
pierced slightly several times. The concussion of the shells, 
bursting in the air, caused the plane to rock like a lifeboat in 
a heavy sea. We managed to alight safely in Waremme, in* 
our own country." 

BOMBS TERRORIZE ANTWERP 

Near the end of August, while the Germans were on their 
onward march in Belgium, they terrorized Antwerp by rain- 
ing bombs on the city from a dirigible Zeppelin. On the 
night of August 25 the great ship of the air appeared over 
the city and the sleeping inhabitants were aroused in the dead 
of night by rending, shattering crashes. Several buildings 
were demolished and ten persons were killed. Belgian high 
angle and machine guns spit their wrath at the Zeppelin but 



Thrilling War Experiences 341 

it sailed away unscathed leaving death and destruction in 
its wake. 

Some new form of explosive was used in the bombs 
dropped from the Zeppelin. To show the destructive powers 
of the bombs the following examples may be used. One shell 
burst in the center of a small park killing a policeman and 
several persons sleeping on nearby benches. Several chil- 
dren were seriously injured in other bomb explosions and 
one was killed. Each bomb carried death with it. 

TREASURE SHIP ESCAPES CAPTURE 

Passengers on several of the big ocean liners also had 
thrilling experiences. The most dramatic of the escapes on 
the sea was that of the Kronprinzessin Cecilie. Carrying 
$13,000,000 in gold the North German Lloyd liner dashed 
into Bar Harbor, Maine, on August 4, after a four-day run 
across the Atlantic, saving the treasure and a big crowd of 
passengers from the clutches of British and French warships. 
The liner left New York with the treasure consigned to for- 
eign bankers in her hold and had several narrow escapes from 
capture. The boat ran at top speed in making the dash back 
to a neutral port and her captain drove her engines at full 
speed through a dense fog in order to evade the watching 
cruisers of Great Britain and France. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

BEST STORIES OF THE WAR 

Narratives of Heroism, Disaster, Humor and Pathos — 
Alsatian Who Went to War to Kill His Son — Ger- 
man Sailors Sink Cheering the Kaiser — English Poacher 
Who Became Killer of Uhlans — Heroism of Women 
Victims of War and Tales of Human Interest in Scenes 
of Carnage. 

THE great European war of 1914 was crowded with 
events of heroism, of disaster, of humor and pathos, all 
fraught with intense human interest. Stories of some of 
these incidents appear elsewhere in this volume under the 
title of "Thrilling Experiences." Herewith are given others 
that may be classified as "The Best Stories of the War." 

"i'm going to fight to kill my son !" 

This story is told of the bravery of French women and 
men. 

General de Castelnau and his three sons went to the front 
at the outbreak of the war and Mme. de Castelnau retired to 
the south. One of the sons was killed in the early fighting. 

When the news of his son's death was conveyed to Gen- 
eral de Castelnau on the battlefield he read the statement and 

343 



344 Best Stories of the War 

then said quietly: "Gentlemen, let us continue," and the 
battle was renewed. 

When the news reached the country house of the family 
in the south the parish priest undertook the delicate task of 
conveying the news of the death of her son to Mme. de 
Castelnau. The priest tried to break the news to her but was 
so overcome with emotion that she guessed something serious 
had happened. 

Mme. de Castelnau simply asked, "Which one?" mean- 
ing whether it was her husband or one of her three sons who 
had been killed. 

When the Thirty-fifth Regiment of General Joffre's 
army entered Muelhausen an aged Alsatian offered the sol- 
diers everything he possessed, pressing them to accept wine 
and food. After they had finished their meal he bade them 
farewell, saying: 

"I am now going to fight to kill my son, who is in the 
Fortieth Regiment of German Infantry." 

DIED CHEERING THE KAISER 

An eye witness of the loss of the German cruiser Ariadne 
and the German torpedo boat destroyer V-157 in the fight- 
ing between British and German warships off Heligoland 
relates the following stoiy of the fight: 

"The destroyer was surprised in a fog by a large number 
of British destroyers and submarines. When the speed of 
the German destroyer became affected by the English shells 
it turned and confronted the enemy with the intention of 
fighting to the end. Her engines, however, soon completely 
failed her, and she was blown up to prevent capture. Her 



Best Stories of the War 345 

crew continued firing until the boat disappeared beneath the 
waves. 

"The Ariadne attacked gamely, but a shell plumped her 
boilers, putting half of them out of commission. Despite 
this the fight continued. The quarterdeck of the Ariadne 
took fire, but those of her guns that were still capable of be- 
ing worked continued shooting. 

"The forecastle of the Ariadne was soon ablaze. Her 
magazine was flooded, but the gallant vessel was doomed. 
Her crew was mustered and gave three cheers for the Kaiser 
and sang the hymn, 'The Flag and Germany Above All.' ' 

A BELGIAN DEAD SHOT 

As an evidence of the indomitable spirit of the Belgians 
is this letter from a daring young man with a young wife and 
child who formerly was notorious as a poacher on game pre- 
serves. It was written in the siege of Namur while he was 
resting a moment : 

"A few weeks ago," the letter says in part, "I was in 
France working in the beet fields. But because the proud 
Prussians attacked our country I had to leave and could not 
bring home a few gold coins for my family. I am feeling as 
well as possible, am whole and sound, and hope, with God's 
help, to see my home once more. 

"The Prussians are poor shots. They don't know by a 
yard where they shoot, and when they see a bayonet they are 
so scared they just run. I have lost but very few bullets. 
When I aim for their noses, you can bet that they don't hear 
the bullets whiz by their ears. They get it right in the mouth. 
I never missed a bird on the wing, so how could I miss those 



346 Best Stories of the War 

square head Uhlans ? I settled more than fifty of them, and 
if God lets me live I'll cool off a few more. When they come 
we kill 'em like rats, meanwhile singing 'The Lion of 
Flanders.' 

"Reverend Dear Father, while we send the Uhlans to 
the other country, please take care of my family and see that 
they may not suffer from hunger. Now I finish my letter 
to grab my gun and shoot Uhlans. X. 

"Formerly poacher, now Uhlan killer." 

WIFE OF CAPTOR GETS KAISER's NEPHEW'S SWORD 

During the hot fighting before Charleroi in the early part 
of the Belgian campaign, this incident occurred : 

"A band of Uhlans was captured Sunday at the gates 
of Courtrai by a detachment of French chasseurs. Their 
chief officer was found to be Lieut. Count von Schwerin, a 
nephew of the Kaiser. The young commander was only 
twenty-five years old and had been married only seven 
months. The officer commanding the French detachment 
found that the Count's sword was a present from the Kaiser 
himself and bore an inscription to that effect on the blade. 

"The Count's saber, belt and helmet were taken to St. 
Ouen and presented to the wife of the officer who made the 
capture." 

GRITTY BRITISH AND GERMAN SAILORS 

Many German shells which made hits in the naval engage- 
ment off Heligoland did not explode, according to British 
seamen, and at one time there were five in the boiler room of 



Best Stories of the War 347 

one of the destroyers, any one of which would have destroyed 
the ship had it burst. A sailor, asked what they did with 
them, replied: 

"Oh, just shied them overboard. There was no room for 
such rubbish aboard our yacht." 

The German sailors showed equal grit. As one of the 
cruisers, decks aflame and mast and flag shot away, was sink- 
ing, the only man left in the forecastle hoisted the flag and 
then went down with the ship. 

RODE INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH 

A correspondent describing the fighting before Malines 
said: 

"I could see dark blue masses of Belgian infantry falling 
back, cool as on a winter's morning. Through a mistake, two 
battalions of carbineers did not receive the order to retire and 
were in imminent danger of destruction. To reach them a 
messenger would have had to traverse a mile of open road 
swept by shrieking shrapnel. A colonel summoned a gen- 
darme and gave him the orders and he set spurs to his horse 
and tore down the road, an archaic figure in towering bear- 
skin. It was a ride into the jaws of death. 

"He saved his troops, but as they fell back the German 
gunners got the range and dropped shell upon shell into the 
running column. Road and fields were dotted with corpses 
in Belgian blue. 

"At noon the Belgians and Germans were in places only 
fifty yards apart, and the rattle of musketry sounded like a 
boy drawing a stick along the palings of a picket fence. The 
railway embankment from which I viewed the battle was 



348 Best Stories of the War 

fairly carpeted with corpses of infantrymen killed yesterday. 
I saw peasants throw twelve into one grave." 

SPIRIT OF HUMANITY OF NAVAL LORD 

A spirit of humanity to man is reflected in a message 
from the head of the British Navy to the head of the German 
Navy, which was transmitted through the Department of 
State at Washington, informing the latter of the safety of 
his son after a naval battle, in which the son had been reported 
among the slain. 

The message, which was from Winston Churchill, First 
Lord of the British Admiralty, to Admiral von Tirpitz, Ger- 
man Minister of Marine, was as follows: 

"Your son has been saved and has not been wounded." 

Secretary Bryan made public the dispatch with the com- 
ment: "There is something noble in the spirit." Themes- 
sage was sent to Ambassador Gerard at Berlin, who conveyed 
it to Admiral von Tirpitz. 

HEROISM OF WOMEN VICTIMS OF WAR 

A correspondent writing of scenes along the French fron- 
tier in the early days of the war said : 

"In the past two days I have watched many cases of 
women's heroism — not the self-denial of the Red Cross 
nurses, for to that one is accustomed — but a long procession 
of weary women cheerfully encouraging the children, hun- 
gry, tired and footsore, or with their bones aching from the 
jolting of the farm carts, was a picture of splendid courage, 
which made you understand how a nation becomes resolute 
in the face of war. 



Best Stories of the War 349 

"One woman I met at an evacuated town was proceeding 
with her splendid son, aged ten, and a delightfully talkative 
little girl of eight, to a place where her children would be 
safe. This cultured lady was the wife of a captain of cavalry. 
"As she looked back at her home at Longwy, she saw a 
lifetime's treasures burnt, but sadness of her heart was not 
betrayed to her children. This family had not tasted food 
for three days; the children did not want to eat, while the 
mother starved. 

"The bright eyes of the boy were not dimmed by exhaus- 
tion; instead of hearing complaints of hardships, you were 
questioned as to the latest news from the battle line. 

"This small family, which I watched for eight hours in 
the sternly fought area, was but a type of thousands of others. 
Truly M^ar brings out the best as w r ell as the worst of 
humanity." 

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES 

A Brussels correspondent gave the following picture of 
life in the Belgian trenches : 

"Sometimes the trenches are only just ditches cut like 
deep furrows among potatoes or along the edge of a field 
of corn. Others are banked on the attacking side and 
branches are placed over them to screen the men from the 
eyes of airmen. 

"Along the quiet banks of the Meuse between Namur 
and Dinant are three score of these (trenches). There I 
saw men lying in readiness with rifles by their sides. Some 
were asleep on the earth, with a little straw under them, but 
ready at a word to seize their weapons. Others were 
gossiping. 



350 Best Stories of the War 

" 'What do you think of to talk about in the trenches?' 
I asked a man who was off duty for a moment. His answer 
was: 

" 'Oh, anything — the heat, the flies, our experiences. 
Don't think we confide much in each other. When one is in 
a situation such as that one catches at anything interesting. 
We do not talk philosophy but some of us practise it. Most 
are only waiting for orders to kill, perhaps just as one waits 
for a tram and lets one's interest be taken by anything.' " 

airman's thrilling trip 

The following letter from a German military aviator to 
his parents was printed in the Brandenburger Zeitung: 

"Last Saturday night, while our company still lay in 
garrison, I received orders to start on a flight into the enemy's 
country at daybreak the following morning. The assign- 
ment was as follows : Over a French fortress, thence west- 
ward to Maas and back the entire distance of 300 kilometers 
(about 186 miles). 

"By way of preparation maps of the whole region were 
minutely studied till midnight. Next morning at cock-crow 
our Gotha-Taube rolled across the city square, then rose and 
headed westerly. In half an hour we had reached an altitude 
of 1,200 meters above the town. Then we headed for the 
French border, and immediately my observer, First Lieu- 
tenant A., called my attention to little black puffs of smoke, 
and I knew at once we were being fired at by hostile artillery, 
so climbed to 2,000 meters. 

"Next we noticed that three of the enemy's aeroplanes 
were pursuing us, but we soon outdistanced and lost sight of 



Best Stories of the War 351 

them. Later we heard that two of the enemy's aeroplanes 
had been brought down by our artillery. Both hands of one 
of the pilots were said to have been blown away by a shot. 

"With a threefold 'Hurrah!' we now flew over the border 
toward a battlefield of the war of 1870-71, which we reached 
without any further untoward incidents. Here we noticed 
long columns of troops marching from the south toward the 
northeast. We circled around the place and then started 
toward Maas. 

"We were now continuously fired upon. I saw, among 
other things, how a battalion of infantry stopped in the 
street and aimed at us. Silently and quietly we sat in our 
Taube and wondered what would happen next. Suddenly I 
noticed a faint quivering throughout the whole aeroplane; 
that was all. As I saw later, one of the planes had four holes 
made by rifle bullets." 



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